Paradise Strike
by TigersFury-LionsHeart
Summary: Kiba opened Paradise. Or so he thought. Something went wrong, and the world has been reborn. But this time, two new wolves, Eneres and Citegrene, are destined to open Paradise once and for all, and in a new world, things are twice as difficult as before..
1. Chapter 1: One Hell of a Paradise

**A/N:** Hello, fellow avid readers and authors! Just a few things before you can get started reading our story. First, this is a crossover between the anime Wolf's Rain and the book The Sight by David Clement-Davies (though I (Syri) took the liberty of adding some Dark Knight stuff to it as well). We just put it under Wolf's Rain because you guys review more, and plus it does seem to have more to do with Wolf's Rain than anything else. Let's see . . . other little tidbits of info that might make your reading experience better . . . the character names in our story that are NON-CANON do tend to have a little hidden meaning if you read them backwards . . . so far, all of the odd numbered chapters have been written by Estrella Tallinfoot, and the even numbered chapters have been written by me (Syrialla), though that might change as we get farther along in the plot . . . um . . . I believe that is it for now! Please read and review!!

**Disclaimer:** We do not own ANY part of this story except for the non-canon characters, and the plot! That is like, IT!

This story was purely made for the enjoyment of you guys, and just because we were bored and tend to do strange little group projects when we are bored. :P

Syri & Strelli

Tiger's Fury & Lion's Heart

* * *

**Paradise Strike**

By

Syrialla and Estrella

**Chapter 1**

It was paradise . . . yet nothing like it. Beautiful, vibrant flowers dotted the rolling landscape, their lovely smell refreshing the rich earth. An endless sea of tall, fresh green grass, waiting to be rolled in, was perfect for hiding, making it all the more enjoyable. A small lake lay in the middle of it all, edged with the color of golden sand, gradually deepening into a dark cobalt blue, and finally turning black in the very center, with all shades of the rainbow in between. It was paradise.

But at the exact same time, it was not. There was no food, nothing to chase; even though one didn't need food anyway. There was no fun to be had, no thrill of the kind that sends adrenaline rushing and heart pumping until one achieves their goal, successful at last. And every memory was lost to the blank folds of time. Slowly, ever so slowly (though it could have been a few minutes; nobody really knows), the mind would start to ebb away, like the evening tide returning to sea as the sky turned to dawn. And once one had forgotten completely, there was no going back. One became a prisoner in this paradise, this divine paradise, where everything was perfect, is perfect, and always would be perfect – past, present, future – but yet wrong. This place was often used as a punishment for the banished and exiled, even though some could not find their way and had meandered here on their own. No creature should have to live in this . . . paradise.

But Eneres did. The beautiful silver she-wolf lay at the foot of the gorgeous pool, hating herself for what she had done what seemed like an eternity ago. _Cheza, _she would think to herself. _My Cheza. Forgive me. _She remembered what she had done like a branding; always sharp, always painful in her memories. And she always _would _remember – it was a sentence; a horrible, horrible sentence for her crime.

With eyes like golden-green pools, she snarled at her shimmering reflection in the pool, jumped up and dashed away, only to run on forever in the field of lush green grass, where there was no wind to carry her along like the wings of an eagle.

"Where are you going, Eneres?" came a soft, sweet voice behind her. Eneres stopped dead, the snarl still menacingly playing around her lips. She slowly turned around to face the girl, but then again, not a girl. She was a caracal, with pointed, tufted ears, a half-tail, and catlike features. It made Eneres's stomach churn with hatred and disgust.

"Where _can _I go?" Eneres snarled back. The girl/caracal gazed at the wolf. The girl giggled (much to Eneres' annoyance) and ran off, pulling the wolf's instincts to playfully chase after her. It had been fun at first, to dart after the swift cat, to hide behind a rock and mischievously pounce at her, laughing until their stomachs were sore. But now it was a displeasure to romp after the nuisance endlessly, going from no place and getting nowhere. It was eternal, and by far the worst punishment for what she had done, or rather, not done. Eneres slowly padded after the caracal, trying to have as much fun as possible, but that chance was not very likely.

Eneres trudged on; trying to pull a veil of happiness over her eyes, for it was almost like another punishment in itself to make the girl/caracal unhappy, or even a tad bit frustrated or discontented.

"Coming, Myu," she smiled forcefully, now almost dragging her paws.

Myu giggled once again, and began to leap around, eager for Eneres to jump after her. "Come on, silly. I'm not going to wait forever."

"But I'll have to," mumbled Eneres under her breath.

Much to her annoyance, once again Myu giggled, and leaped off through the lush ocean of grass.

_Cheza, oh my Cheza, how could I have betrayed you so?_ thought Eneres. _Anything would be better than this, even if I had to endure the pain I bore so long ago._

Eneres's patience was always tested these days, and it was always close to its breaking point. Myu's personality was often too much for Eneres to handle now, and when something frustrated Eneres so much, she howled. As she howled now. The mournful cry swept across the field, calling for someone that wouldn't answer. It was beautiful but blood-chilling at the same time. It rose and fell, and when it was gone, Eneres collapsed to the ground, inhaled deeply, and slept, as if trying to dream the torturous world away from her, but knowing it would all be there when she woke up – always and forevermore. Unless . . .


	2. Chapter 2: Futile Flight

**Chapter 2**

Dull, erratic thuds echoed throughout the deserted valley, the sound grimly magnified tenfold as it reverberated off of ancient stone. Archaic and majestic, the rock was base to an enormous mountain, its precipitous heights adorned with enormous caps of silvered snow. Its round peak was misted over with dark bands of clouds which irregularly lit up with electric blue, and sharp juts of sleek obsidian thrust out into the night sky, casting shadows on the road below, minuscule in comparison with the towering stone giant.

Although it was dusty from traffic, obvious signs of the road's recent abandonment still marked its black pavement. On one side, where the ground inclined towards the dark summit, there was nary a scrap of plant matter growing on the smooth rock; on the other, trees gracefully dipped down the valley's distant slope, filled the dale with hard green waves, then crept back up the nearest side to distinctly stop where brittle grass met cracked tar.

Encompassed in the mountain's great shadow, a wolf desperately sprinted down the road. Dirty golden fur flailed in all directions as she pounded roughly on the hard pavement, her stocky limbs working like mighty pistons. Her tongue lolled from exhaustion; sweat dripped from her matted fur; her lungs burned like a smoldering fire. Though every part of her screamed to stop, from her throbbing headache to her racing heart, from her dirt-encrusted pelt to her cracked paws, she kept running.

The road frequently flickered in and out of sight as images flashed to overtake reality: a burning town full of fleeing humans; crimson jaws dripping with entrails; cawing scavengers soaring high in a black sky; a blood-soaked moon glowing down on a flaming forest. The she-wolf violently shook her head to clear her mind, though the energy that took caused her to slow pace. W_hy does the past still haunt me so?_

She had no knowledge of the road's origin, it's termination, or what its purpose had been, yet she still pushed on as it curved round the mountain, sloping downwards into the mysterious valley. Dark-leafed trees loomed over her, mocking her hopeless efforts to run. Pointedly, she kept her eyes on the road, trying to block the fear that encroached into her soul and ignore the illusion that the trees were leaning closer to her. All the while, the cloudy sky rumbled with a threatening promise of rain.

A terrible howl floated through the trees: deep, throaty, and fierce. It echoed menacingly around the she-wolf. She desperately glanced behind her into the dark recesses of the forest, but there was nothing to see except black shadows as the road wrapped around a massive boulder, bending out of sight. She forced herself to sprint faster, despite the stinging protests of the cracks in her feet and the inferno of pain that consumed her lungs.

Shapes flitted on the corners of her vision, black silhouettes that weaved between the shadowy trunks, whispering promises and punishments. A dark grimace gradually fell across the she-wolf's features, and fear made her fur prickle. She pushed her body to its very limit, picking up speed. The shapes easily matched her pace. Trying to keep the panic at bay, the golden wolf felt like she was walking through quicksand, as if she wasn't moving at all even though her rhythmic pawfalls throbbed loudly inside her head. She could see the shadows starting to slither towards her, but her vision, blurred by exhaustion, was of no other use as her gaze pierced blankly through the tree cover.

A peal of thunder roared across the sky, rumbling like some caged beast. Lightning scorched down from the heavens. The white ribbon struck the nearby mountainside and instantly, the air exploded with an ear-deafening crack. A whimper ripped from the she-wolf's muzzle as the sound battered her ear drums. More flashes of light consumed her vision as they erupted close to the distant line of pouring rain.

Panting, the ragged she-wolf slowed, dragging pace as her limbs turned into lead weights. She sharply berated herself, then sped up again, shaking her head in determination. The throbbing in her skull all but consumed her hearing, but it suddenly intensified even more as the rhythmic drumming of paws doubled in volume.

The she-wolf wasn't so far gone that she wasn't aware of her situation. Someone, or something, was following in her footsteps: literally. Instinctively, she slowed, lengthening her stride. There was a brief second where another set of paws landed off-beat, but then merged with her rhythm almost immediately.

Then all extra sound ceased. All that the she-wolf could hear was her own ragged breathing, the lollop of her paws. Time itself seemed to slow as she fearfully looked behind her, registered the sight of an enormous black maw open and full of glinting fangs, and felt them snap down onto her muzzle. An excruciating white hot pain lanced up into her skull, storming her brain with one thought: to make it end. Eyes rolling into her head, the added weight to her body caused her to lose stride. She stumbled, tripped over her foreleg, slammed into the pavement, and rolled head over paws, the attacker hanging on with a death grip.

Over and over they tumbled, down the deserted road, every sharp rock stabbing into the she-wolf's pelt, every brush of her attacker's fur against her own causing adrenaline to shoot into her veins. Their plight came to a crashing halt, and then there was silence.

Struggling, the she-wolf tried to inhale, but couldn't. Her attacker had clamped onto her nose so hard that she was seeing stars. She kicked out sharply with her hind legs, writhing around, trying to escape. One of her limbs managed to land a blow on her enemy's side, causing it to audibly huff a mouthful of raunchy smelling air into her eyes. Tears sprung up, and she flopped around with a new fervor. She couldn't handle the tight pain in her lungs any longer; she _needed_ to breathe! Her overwhelming frustration at herself, at her helplessness, fueled her hateful struggle to be free. She kicked and scratched, fighting with all the life left in her.

After a long, pain-filled minute of futile attempts to escape, bit by bit, the she-wolf's legs lost their vigor; slowly, her eyelids drooped lower and lower, and all pain dimmed away into a slight discomfort. She could feel her muscles refusing to respond to all commands. Her head throbbing with the dull pain of death, her vision blackening over as her cells slowly died, she looked past the huge nose close in her vision; past the blurred muzzle, up the black face, into those piercing eyes of a wolf.

Her heart stopped. Shock sapped the last bit of oxygen in her body. Boring into her were crimson eyes, the pupils extremely dilated. As she stared back at them in fear, unable to look away, the black circles widened until they entirely covered the red irises. A rumble emanated from deep within his chest as he stared at the wolf within his jaws, as if he was trying to penetrate to her very soul.

Blue-white light spilled all over the scene. The warm glow of the moon poured onto the world, and as the she-wolf's heavy eyelids closed, she sent a prayer to the wolf goddess Tor.

_Oh, Tor, please save me! I know my life hasn't been a worthy one, but please, give me another chance . . ._

The male wolf shook his prey once, then the she-wolf felt the pressure release from her muzzle. Air rushed to fill her lungs with a big _whoosh, _and her head hit the pavement. Tingling filled her entire body over as oxygen flowed through her veins, into every dying cell, revitalizing and renewing.

With much effort, the prone wolf opened her eyes. The illuminated pelt of a black wolf filled her vision, and she registered dark shapes slithering out of the woods around him. With his red eyes glinting, sneering ivory teeth savagely sparkling, the black wolf declared, "Well, well, well. If it isn't Citegrene, at last. The Balkar are at the eternal service of the _mighty _First Wolf."


	3. Chapter 3: Savior

**Chapter 3**

Today was the day. Eneres felt it quivering in her bones, all the way up to the tips of her fur, which made them stand on end. Today was the day to escape this dreadful paradise and be reunited with her Cheza.

Nothing around her pointed to signs of that particular event happening, but as you know, being cooped up for so long, anything seems possible when the air changes.

Giving herself a good roll in the grass and a satisfying shake, Eneres trotted over to the peculiar pool and waded in as far as she could go before it reached her belly, for once you got in too deep, there was no coming out (the current was horrifyingly swift and strong). She hindered a yelp, for the water was quite hot; not to the point of boiling but enough to get some form of a loud noise out of you if you weren't expecting it.

Then she sat. Making herself as comfortable as possible in the greenish area of the pool, she took three deep breaths and opened her piercing eyes, staring into the ebony center of the pool. This was the best way to scry into other worlds of Myu's. She stared long and hard, forcing herself not to blink or even flicker her eyes away to watch the sparkle of the verdant grass surrounding the pool. Scrying took a lot of hard work and concentration, and one day, when it just happened and Eneres began to investigate, it took her what seemed like months to completely master it.

All her work had paid off. Dimly, in the very center of the pool (though growing brighter and larger) was an image. Almost like a mirage, Eneres struggled to make sense of it in her brain as it grew bigger, while still intently watching. It was a white wolf, running dizzily from beneath a God-be-damned nemurigusuri plant (sleeping drug).

_I pity the fool_, thought Eneres, a wolfish smile playing around her lips. _Ah well, all the better for me_.

The white wolf drug itself into a perfect twin of the grass that Eneres had come to know so well, where it collapsed next to a pool not unlike her own and washed its face. Both it and Eneres heard a small sound, and the white wolf looked up to find Myu sitting across from it. Eneres shrunk back a bit, for Myu always knew what was going on in her other worlds too, and she would probably not favor Eneres' spying into them (if she did, Eneres' plan would be ruined anyway). The ivory pelted wolf finished washing its face, and now Eneres guessed that it was trying to find a way to continue to wherever it was going.

"Stop following me," it said, in what was most certainly a male voice, for Myu was not far behind him. Eneres could not hold back a small snigger.

"But why not?" answered Myu innocently.

"Aren't you terrified of me?"

"Not a bit," Myu smiled gaily.

"I'm a wolf, you know." Eneres almost busted a gut.

"Well isn't that obvious, silly?"

The wolf turned and walked further in the grass, clearly already starting to get annoyed with Myu's childish behavior. He turned around once more to tell Myu to stop once again, when she disappeared from behind him. She giggled once more (Eneres rolled her eyes) and the wolf spun around to find her about 50 yards ahead of him. _Ooh, how magical_, thought Eneres sarcastically. _Happens to all of us, buddy. _

He caught up with Myu only to find something that made Eneres gasp. The hill led down into a ravine filled with trees and wildlife. A mid-size lake was off to the right, and mountains closed off the pretty picture in the far back, from east to west. Ducks, deer, buffalo, and other animals dotted the landscape as they grazed on the fake grass Myu had created for them. Lovely wildflowers added to the terrain and the snow-topped mountains stood foreshadowing all below them. This was the exact same scene Myu had painted for her when she had first arrived. _Make friends with them now, torture them later_, mused Eneres. Of course this was all fake; an illusion created by Myu to stun and dazzle her prey and keep them there until . . . until . . . well, we won't go there.

"Is this . . . Paradise?" gaped the new wolf.

"Paradise?" said Myu, playing innocent.

"That place where you can be free. I've been searching for it my whole life." Eneres snarled viciously at the mention of the true Paradise of which the wolf was speaking, and almost aimed for the newcomer's neck when she remembered that it was just an image.

"If that's what you think it is," lulled Myu. "Then it must be. This is a paradise made just for you."

Eneres knew what would happen next: Myu would make friends with the newcomer and they would romp and play for what seemed like hours, and stay together for what seemed like an eternity, where the stranger's mind would begin to lose its hold on the reality it once knew. Then at night (in the white wolf's world) she would sneak away and check on her other prisoners – namely Eneres – and do the same with them. But Eneres had a different plan.

"Kiba, will you stay with me here forever?" asked Myu, a longing look of pity in her eyes that could fell any great beast after they had run around for a bit.

_Kiba. So that's your name._

Eneres broke her gaze with the middle of the pool and the image disappeared into the blackness. She splashed out of the water, rubbing her stomach and behind along the grass to dry off as much as possible, for since Myu controlled the worlds, night could come any time. But being warmed by the water anyway, it wasn't long before Eneres drifted into one of her own deep sleeps.

* * *

_KIBA__, Kiba, __Kiba. __KIBA__, Kiba__,__Kiba.__.__ It started off strong, then drifted away._

_"Who's there?" I called, hoping it was Cheza, come to take me home away from this amazing place._

_KIBA,__Kiba,__ Kiba. __This time it was Tsume._

_KIBA,__Kiba,__Kiba.__ This time it was Hige._

_KIBA, __Kiba, __Kiba.__ This time it was Toboe._

_"Who's there?" I repeated. "Where are you; I can't see."_

_Kiba._

_This time it was different. Not as wispy as Cheza's voice, but strong and caring with a hint of sadness and longing. I turned to find myself face to face with a silvery gray she-wolf with penetrating golden-green eyes and the sleekest, bushiest tail I ever saw. She was beautiful._

_"Run," she said, her eyes growing wide and fearful. "Run away, Kiba."_

_"What?" I said, completely confused._

_"Run, or she'll get you like she did me."_

_"Get you? I…" I had no clue what was going on. "How? How do I get out of here?"_

_"If you take me with you, I'll show you."_

_"But…how do I know if you're an enemy?"_

_"I can take you to her."_

_"Who?"_

_"Cheza." _

_I gasped. "I'll do it."_

_"May Tor be with you," she whispered._

_I had no idea who this was, but I had a strange feeling come upon me. I stood there blankly until she faded from my memory, then I woke up._

It was done. In a few days, this paradise would be long gone from Eneres' existence.


	4. Chapter 4: Revealed Intentions

**Chapter 4**

Citegrene woke to the thick sound of thunder rumbling overhead. Another noise, the soft melody of rain as it pittered and pattered off of leaves and onto the soggy earth, made her twitch her ears in delight. She shifted her head from the cold, damp ground beneath and nestled it into her belly fur. A long sigh whistled from her nose. Something was terribly wrong. There was no onslaught of pain or waves of memory that usually befell her when she woke.

Excruciatingly slowly, Citegrene cracked open an eye. It took several seconds, but when her vision focused, she noticed that her pelt, once dark with dust, had been completely soaked through. The hairs clung together in a wet mass, a deep golden-brown shade that belyed its true color. The chill that Citegrene should have felt didn't register on her senses at all.

Drearily, she looked upwards towards the verdant canopy. For a split second, a little scrap of black sky became visible through the swaying branches, but then was lost as the gap closed. It was extremely windy.

Citegrene examined her surroundings, a small clearing sheltered by the boughs of tall trees, noting potential escape routes through the underbrush, what could be used for defensive purposes, where she was. Everything was dimmed by the sheltering forest, where only the dark light from the storm filtered through, with the occasional flash of white lightning. Her analysis of her environment's scent came back with damp undergrowth predominating, but there was a strange, cool smell that tickled her nostrils. Citegrene opened her mouth and inhaled deeply, then closed her eyes in serenity. The nature scents soothed her. It had been a long time since she had smelled anything left untainted by humans.

After filling her spirit with temporary peace, Citegrene glanced at the sky once more, to the joy of having a raindrop plop right into her eye. She snorted, shaking her massive head and spraying water all over the damp forest floor.

Irritated, the she-wolf tried to move her limbs, but failed. Lethargy clogged her veins, and her brain was sluggish to comprehend anything. Despite the pangs of frustration within her, Citegrene focused on slowing her breathing, deeply inhaling and exhaling, trying to gather her energy to one point in case of need. It was a technique she had picked up from an old storyteller acquaintence.

A snapping twig made Citegrene whip her head around. She narrowed her pupils at the wolf approaching from the shadows. He put off a strange, cool odor, like the one she had scented earlier. His pelt was black as night, sleek and thick; his eyes a piercing yellow.

The male flashed his teeth in a wicked smile, then padded around to sit a wolf-length in front of Citegrene's sprawled body. "You're awake, at last." His piercing eyes stared at her with an intensity that made her frightened. Almost. She curled her top lip in a snarl and turned her head away in what to the Varg, to wolves, was a very rude gesture. The male didn't anger at all, or if he did, nothing showed.

"So, you _are_ the Gold-Pelted One," he mumbled amusedly, his voice well-hiding his calm curiosity. Citegrene didn't reply and instead contented herself with burning a hole through the nearest tree with her gaze. She was used to such observations, and thus had grown very talented at reading the emotions wolves tried to cover up, though nowadays the times she encountered her own kind were few and far between. If this was how the petty male wanted to treat one of the last of the wolves, she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of angering her. She couldn't risk losing the opportunity to gain new, potentially crucial knowledge by blowing a vessel and attacking him.

Coolly, her captor said, "Hmm . . . not too talkative, are you? I thought the First Wolf of the Balkar would be more charismatic, especially in the presence of one of the Draggas under her command." He sneered and rose to his feet, lifting his tail high in the air with arrogance. Citegrene snorted in disgust. _He calls himself a Dragga? And why does he keep referring to me as this First Wolf? What does he mean by it?_

Almost simultaneously as her thoughts, the ebony wolf cocked an eyebrow, smiled wickedly, and started pacing around Citegrene. "So you really don't know, do you? No matter, all will be explained in due time." Citegrene followed his path with her gaze, noting his haughty step, his body posture. He seemed way too confident for being in the presence of one such as herself. She was . . . a lot different than these wolves. Normally, strangers stayed out of her way, but for one to attack her while she was exhausted and off guard, to drug her and then drag her to Tor-knows-where, a wolf had to have seen her like before, was hardly ever surprised, or else was an insane adrenaline addict. Larger, more powerfully built, she rivaled even this male, whom she grudgingly had to admit was somewhat big and indeed looked strong enough to give her a challenging fight.

That was the thing about most of the Varg. Ever since the humans had nearly driven them to the brink of extinction, the species had almost been entirely wiped out. Some small populations managed to survive in isolated pockets, but over time, they began to develop distinguishing characteristics from the others and adapted to their different surroundings. They became so wrapped up in keeping themselves alive that they either forgot or ignored the knowledge that Varg existed outside of their sheltered lives. Because of this, wolves were very suspicious when encountering others of their kind from another pack.

Citegrene subtly started tensing her limbs, fighting the lethargy with everything she had in her. This black male disturbed her, with his cockiness, with his actions, with his unknown intentions. This whole Balkar thing disturbed her as well. As far as she knew, the Balkar were some far off legend that abruptly ended with the Larka Incident about 1200 years ago. Did they still exist? Had she really traveled all the way to their lands? Was she near the place where the wise Larka lived? Was she in the presence of a descendant of the persecuted, yet noble Fell?

That thought gave her pause. Could this black _whelp_ have ancestors such as Fell and Tarlar? Forgetting the need to be subtle, she openly raised her hackles, closely scrutinizing him, appalled at the possibility. The black wolf must have noticed her, for he stopped his pacing about and gave her an unreadable stare.

"You know, you really shouldn't have left that pretty little silver there to die in the flames." That did it. Her war with weariness paid off as, with an enormous effort, the gold wolf rolled onto her feet, savagely snarling, gathered her limbs beneath her, and lunged at the male's throat. Her flight for freedom ended abruptly as her head thunked to the ground four feet from where she had jumped. _Damn, this poison drains me of my strength._

She saw the black wolf's paws getting closer, then felt his hot breath in her ear. "Don't think I don't know about that, Citegrene," he whispered, articulating each consonant. "You left her there . . . to _die._" His pink tongue darted out and licked her fur, making Citegrene squirm, but she couldn't find the energy to bite his cocky face. He backed off, his eyes dancing with laughter at her incapacity to react. "I like that in a wolf: beauty, intelligence, and _heartlessness_." He threw her a sly grin then turned his back on her and started to walk away.

"No."

The ebony wolf looked over his shoulder. Citegrene locked gazes with him, not flinching one bit. Her voice held a cold authority that made wolves instantly quiet, and it carried an accent from lands unknown to the dark lupine.

"I didn't leave her to die. She chose it herself."

A grin flickered across his muzzle as he slowly turned round to face her. "Since when does the First Wolf leave someone to die, even if it is their will?"

"Since when does a mighty Balkar act like a neuter pup?" She literally spat the word Balkar out, sickening of the First Wolf references. But she could feel strength slowly seeping back to her, which gave her confidence. She'd show this mongrel who was Alpha.

Her insult struck home. The male's hackles started to raise, a growl rumbling deep in his chest. Anger sparked in his eyes despite his previous attempts to control it. Citegrene couldn't resist throwing another punch at him.

"What's next? Do you walk with humans, too?" The male pricked his ears forward in anger, and his tail stuck straight out behind him. His mouth opened in a wide snarl, showing off beautifully wicked fangs. Memories rushed back to Citegrene; memories forgotten in the momentary rush of adrenaline; memories of searing fire, human screams, and the shadow of a black wolf lunging for her throat, cries for death on her lips.

And then she recalled a road twining around an enormous mountain. She remembered her flight, and then how this wolf had nearly killed her. Confusion seeped through Citegrene: it was the same exact wolf that had attacked her . . . however long ago it had been, but she swore that his eyes had been crimson. Maybe she had been seeing things; after all, she had been exhausted.

Citegrene leapt out of the way just in time as the wolf struck, flying the 10 feet between them. She quickly whirled around, but, misjudging her strength, tripped and fell to the ground. Lucky for her, because the black wolf had sprung again, overshooting her sprawled body. Citegrene quickly scrambled onto her feet and turned to face him as he landed lightly, hackles bristling.

They locked gazes: intense yellow and piercing blue. Citegrene panted hard, but her opponent was unfazed. He growled gleefully at what he considered was a battle already won. The she-wolf raised her head and fluffy tail high in a sign that she would never give up.

He lunged again, and managed to get a hold on her shoulder, biting down hard. Citegrene could almost imagine her blood vessels bursting as she felt the teeth pierce right through her thick coat into the muscle tissue. She yelped loudly and was forced to the ground by his weight.

"What do you want from me?" she huffed, her sides heaving. The male released her, licked his lips, and reared back.

"Paradise," he whispered, a savage twinkle in his eyes. Citegrene almost said aloud, _but it can't be opened without . . ._

"Eneres," the black wolf whispered. "She is still alive."


	5. Chapter 5: Back From Beyond the Grave

**Chapter 5**

With her pinpoint vision, Eneres seated herself the furthest away she could from the pool in the direction she had remembered Kiba running from, eager to watch her plan unfold quite deliciously. In the image, a tank was rushing toward the nemurigusuri plant, apparently chasing two other wolves. It stopped at the plant and opened up its doors, two guards clad in armor jumping out with guns and a taller figure, dressed in even finer armor, striding out yielding a large battle axe and a shield. The two smaller figures pulled back the thick leaves of the nemurigusuri, then looked back and nodded at the tall figure, seemingly finding what they were looking for. The white wolf's body. Suddenly, the two other wolves now attacked the guards, jumping on their heads and biting them with ferocity.

The guards and the tall figure recovered quickly and were shooting at the wolves, but the lupines dodged the bullets easily enough before an Indian rode up on his horse and shot arrows into the necks of the two smaller gunmen. The tall figure lowered his axe, a red dot appearing in the center of the pole. A laser shot from inside it, missing the Indian by mere inches. But suddenly, the armor-clad attackers fell over: not from battle wounds, but from the plant finally taking its toll on them (there is a reason why it is called the "sleeping drug" plant).

A third wolf had now run up with the other two and all of them were looking half-curiously, half-horrified at the plant, for inside they now saw the starved and ragged body of Kiba, lying in the middle of the plant; the most dangerous spot.

Eneres's eyes grew wide with anticipation; this was the moment she had been waiting for.

The Indian ran up, yelling at the wolves (who were yelling at each other for thinking Kiba was dead), probably to tell them to stay back, away from the dreaded plant. He covered his nose with his buckskin sleeve and walked calmly into the bush and pulled Kiba out, hauling him over one shoulder and running away as quickly as possible, the three wolves still staring at him. He put Kiba's bony body on his horse, then turned to talk to the wolves. Eneres decided that this might be important and strained to hear the Indian's strong, but calm voice.

"Your friend's spirit has been taken. I'm sure the Elder can call it back."

"Hurry!" cried the smallest of the wolves.

_Showtime_, Eneres thought, trotting away from her spot and wading back in the pool to scry on Kiba one last time before she made her escape. To her surprise, Kiba's spirit and Myu were sitting at the edge of the pool together also, and she almost lost her concentration in fright. Kiba was in human form, with black hair and sad blue eyes. _Come on, come on, come on!_ she thought impatiently after letting her hackles lie back down flat.

Suddenly, a breeze flowed through Myu and Kiba's hair, but it picked up to a gale, blowing dirt and sand into their faces. Myu's face looked furious, but she tried to keep it calm. Kiba had closed his eyes and put his hand up to them, trying to block out the dirt that was gusting in his face.

"Stop it," whispered Myu.

"Why, Myu? What's wrong?" asked Kiba, peeping open one eye to look at her.

"It looks like someone's found you," she said sullenly, which Eneres guessed probably tore at the white wolf's heart.

"What do you mean?" said Kiba.

Myu opened her eyes wide, and Eneres laughed at the gesture, because now Myu realized what was going on.

"Eneres!" she screamed, throwing her head back, her magenta eyes filled with hatred and fear.

But the paradise drifted away, and soon Eneres was standing behind Kiba, who was looking completely dumbfounded. Chanting could be heard in the background, and Eneres guessed that it was the Elder the young Indian was talking about.

Myu must have been very desperate to hold onto her prisoners, for now half of the blackness was blended into the fake paradise. "I wanted to be with you forever," she whispered, and Kiba looked entranced, but still a bit down-to-earth (so to speak). "But now," continued Myu, "I know you shouldn't stay. You're right. This place, it isn't Paradise at all."

Eneres scoffed and snarled at Myu's begging: she was trying to lure Kiba out of his trance to his own body by making her own world seem absolutely dreadful (and what woman/caracal should have to live in a dreadful world?). And it looked like it was working.

"It's a place where time stands still," Myu kept going on. "It's a world where time no longer exists. Eventually, you won't remember anything. Or even why you're here."

Eneres sensed hints of triumph and malice in those statements, as Myu described her hell of a paradise. A smile now almost played at the corners of Myu's lips. Kiba was now at a crucial point: if he took one step towards Myu's world, his spirit would be stolen back, and Eneres would be stuck and reasonably punished by Myu. If he took a step backwards, he would lose his footing on the reality that was drawing closer and would fall between the spirit world and his own body. If he stayed exactly where he was, he would return, with Eneres's spirit as some sort of a cling-on (this was Eneres's grand plan – it was humiliating, yet the only way). Eneres decided to take a risk. _KIBA, Kiba, Kiba,_ she whispered in his ear. _Come. _

"You'll forget; just like I have," finished Myu.

"Why are you doing this?" Kiba asked, and it nearly gave Eneres a heart attack for it was the first time he had spoken.

"Kiba, you have to go." Myu practically spit the words out of her own mouth.

"No, wait!" cried Kiba, and Eneres howled in fury. "Come with me!"

Myu shook her head, that evil smile almost getting a hold of her.

"Myu…" whispered Kiba.

"You and I are more different than you realize," she breathed, her smile finally betraying her, her eyes glinting in an emotion almost like hatred. Eneres swore Myu was looking straight at her. But Myu simply turned and walked away. The carrot in front of the donkey.

"Myu!" yelled Kiba, and he lifted his foot to take a step forward. Eneres snarled demonically, and leaped, grabbing hold of Kiba's shoulder with her glinting teeth, just as the wind and dust picked up again.

Myu's world was closing like an eyelid over an eye. "Good-bye," growled Myu menacingly. "Good-bye, Kiba."

Kiba gasped, and stood open-mouthed at Myu's closing world, then he finally saw the sense, and relaxed his muscles, only to turn around again to find Eneres clamped onto his shoulder. "You," he whispered. "YOU!" He was now just as furious as Myu. He bared his teeth and aimed for Eneres's neck, but Eneres had one more trick up her sleeve. _KIBA, Kiba, Kiba_, came a voice behind them. _KIBA, Kiba, Kiba. _

Kiba turned, and now many worlds were closing their eyes around him. _Do you know who this one is?_ asked the voice. _Kiba, Kiba, Kiba. Remember._

Eneres almost burst into hate-filled tears at the sound of Cheza's voice as a lunar flower opened up beside them. Kiba's eyes opened wide with realization, and he mumbled, "Cheza," with Myu's world finally faded away, to reveal a sound like claws being scratched upon bark, but it was only the Elder's shake-stick.

* * *

Kiba was now breathing normally, and Toboe could finally breathe now, too. Kiba had even opened his eyes a tad. Letting out a deep sigh, Toboe thanked Tor and Fenris silently and profoundly for their graciousness at letting Kiba return. Hige gasped beside him. Opening his eyes, Toboe gasped also. Standing before them, was a pale, silvery, almost transparent image of a beautiful silver she-wolf, with golden-green eyes and the bushiest tail Toboe ever saw.

The Elder looked somewhat stunned also, but quietly said, "Are you a friend or a foe?"

"It depends on what I should be afraid of from you," spoke the image. Her voice was golden, and Toboe could almost feel her breath on his face.

"There is nothing to fear from an old Elder," he smiled. "You are welcome."

The she-wolf seemed to be depending on these words, for a small trickle of relief washed over her face. And then she became more and more life-like, her fur coming into focus, most of her shimmery glow disappearing, and her eyes becoming even more piercing. Then, when it seemed that she could not get any more real, she fainted alongside Kiba.


	6. Chapter 6: Journey to the Balkar Packs

**Chapter 6**

"How do you know that?" Citegrene snarled deeply at the black wolf as she staggered onto her feet. "How do you know her name? Who _are_ you?"

"That is for me to know," he said coolly, "and for you to find out." He turned his back to her and flicked his tail towards the trees. Five large male wolves slithered out of the shadows like grasht, vampires, of pups' stories. "Come," he beckoned to her.

Appalled as she was for not scenting the newcomers earlier, Citegrene knew this was a battle she could not win in her current physical condition. Besides, she also felt a burning curiousity in her stomach, which was reason enough to follow this wolf's orders . . . for now.

The black wolf took the lead, with two wolves flanking each of Citegrene's sides and the last trailing behind her. Weaving between moss-covered tree trunks, splashing through bubbling streams, leaping over gorges that descended into what seemed like hell itself, they trekked across the wilderness towards a destination unknownf. The only thing Citegrene knew was that they were climbing up, higher and higher, seemingly to the very stars themselves.

As they crossed the beautiful terrain of the northern mountains, as the sun slowly climbed across the sky, Citegrene wondered why this particular area was still intact and shielded from pollution. It was true that there were few birds and game animals, but the flora was thriving on the sun's rays, and Citegrene reveled in the beauty of this rare oasis of nature. The great ball of fire's light struck her golden coat and made it shine like a wondrous star in itself, and her fur slowly fluffed outward as she regained physical strength. Although she still wasn't strong enough to take on six fully grown males.

Citegrene had grown up fighting off Draggas and Drappas alike in order to survive in the cruel world. She had seen and done many things that she wished she hadn't, and if it weren't for the strength-sapping poison in her blood now, Citegrene would most likely have tried to attack this strange black wolf. She most likely would have started a battle in which she had no chance of winning . . . a battle to the death.

The great wolf shook her head and inwardly snarled. _Excuses. Justifications for deeds not worth justifying . . . deeds that can never be justified._ Her eyes sparkling, she looked hopefully towards the sun, praying to the wolf god Fenris, to whom normally only males prayed, to be forgiven. Citegrene didn't feel any better. She wondered if Tor and Fenris would ever forgive her, or if it was just herself that couldn't spare the forgiveness. That had to be it; she could never be acquited for her sins.

A jolt coursed through her body as she ran straight into a hard, furry wall. The black leader whirled around and snarled, "Keep your mind in the present, Drappa!"

Citegrene tensed, her mouth gaping. He gave her one long look, then leapt onto a nearby rock. Was his comment mere cooincidence, or did he know something more? Did he know about her past? She scoffed at herself. Of course he couldn't know. But how did he know that she was thinking about her dark secrets from long ago?

The night had fallen around them. Citegrene had hardly noticed, being so consumed in her thoughts. The black wolf scented the wind from his perch and snarled. He jumped down quickly and howled, "Keep moving. We can't stop for long."

Citegrene sniffed the air. Nothing came back except the scents of the forest. Confused, she slowly padded after her captor.

Night broke into day, and in turn, day fell into night once more, the continuous cycle of the world. Their journey was long and arduous, and food was scarce. But somehow, however he did it, the black wolf managed to catch just enough prey for them all to survive. This puzzled Citegrene deeply, for the dark one was very strange indeed. Game was unnaturally attracted to him. And he had never given his name to her. None of the other wolves seemed to know it either. She pieced this together with what she already knew about him.

A howl of shock rose in her throat, but she quickly suppressed it. _Could this wolf possibly possess the . . . No, it just isn't possible! It hasn't appeared in the world for countless generations . . . No! It must be extinct from the Lera, the wild animals. It has been way too long for it too reappear now!_

Citegrene would have spent weeks analyzing this possibility. The only thing that stopped her was, on that same day, just when the golden wolf thought she was strong enough to break free from her captors, she started to feel drowsy and weak once again. Her thoughts became clouded, and her limbs were slow to move.

The second time this occurred, she realised that her "guards" were probably poisoning her food with the strength-sapping drug they had used previously. When she came to that conclusion, the convoy had reached the highest mountains, where, even if Citegrene _did_ escape, she wouldn't be able to survive long on her own.

With that depressing thought persistantly in the back of her mind, Citegrene spent most of her time reflecting on the past, and the silver wolf she had failed. She could feel, somehow, that Eneres was alive, but the link was faint, as if the silver she-wolf was trapped somewhere far away. Guilt consumed Citegrene every waking minute of her life, from which the only respite was sleep.

Even then, she would dream horrible nightmares of a raging fire and a dark shape, an evil grin across its face and insanity in its one visible eye. Just when the great beast turned it's head to reveal the other orb, Citegrene would wake with a startled yelp. It was so terrifying that she sometimes considered finding a way to end it all. Her only lifeline at this moment was her shaky faith of Tor and Fenris, whom she fervently prayed to almost constantly, and the sliver of hope that Eneres was still alive.

One morning, rain clouds were in the sky as Citegrene woke again from that same nightmare. Her fur was damp with sweat, and she shivered from the cold. Across the clearing where they had stayed for the night was the sentry wolf, staring at her intently. When their gazes met, he hurriedly glanced away, flushed. Citegrene had often noticed the wolves gazing at her as if lovestruck. It was sickening, yet strangely flattering. Even stranger was the fact that she had caught five of the male wolves in the act. The black wolf never showed any undue emotion. _That might explain the reason they are being more civilized towards me._ Though he didn't share his brethren's infatuation with her, the black one had lessened the amount of times he snapped at Citegrene, and had even toned down his insults some. _It's probably just because these whelps have never seen a wolf of my kind before._ And so, she reassured herself with that thought. She'd hate for it to be because of something else.

All of these many emotional problems built up in Citegrene's heart, making her sick to her very soul. It seemed that Tor and Fenris were blocking their ears to her pleas, and she felt that death would be very welcome. Depressed, and with that very thought of suicide in her mind, the wolf group reached the crest of the highest of the many rolling hills between mountains and looked down into the valley below.

Citegrene was ripped from her thoughts as she inhaled sharply. It looked like Fenris himself had taken a bite out of the earth and left an enormous circular bowl. Lush with greenery unknown to the rest of the mountain passes, trees dominated its rolling splendor. About ten miles in the distance, water cascaded down a steeper side of the valley, plunging into the river below it, which in turn carved downwards to the lake in the center. Its beauty would have been even more uninmaginable if the sky was clear of clouds.

Close to thirty wolves resided on the bank nearest the wolf party. There was naught one among them that wasn't busy with something: sharpening teeth on stones, practicing fighting skills, organizing hunting parties. It was the largest amount of wolves Citegrene had ever laid eyes upon, and she was both tremendously excited and terribly scared for her life.

Suddenly, the black wolf threw back his sleek head and howled a greeting that echoed around the valley. Four shapes broke off from the main pack and ran up the hill towards him. Silence returned Citegrene's captor as the emissaries gruffly streaked upwards and halted in front of him. They growled as they saw Citegrene, and one stepped forward to address the black wolf.

"What's this? You were supposed to have brought her here nearly a fortnight ago. Rekoj is not going to be pleased, and most likely it will be _my_ hide that is tanned. You don't want that to happen," he growled, his fur bristling outwards.

The black wolf glared back at him coolly and replied, "There were . . . difficulties. And I shall bring the message to Rekoj myself if you are so worried about your scrawny hide. It seems more than pups need protecting around here."

Glaring with such a fierceness that Citegrene tensed for a fight, the messenger wolf turned and sprang back down the hill, howling an announcement of the long-awaited arrivals to the other wolves with poorly hidden anger.

The black wolf grunted in amusement, then leapt forward, the rest of the males quickly following. Citegrene was pulled along with the throng, and grudgingly ran down the hill. "Where are you taking me?" she yelled into the breeze.

"To Rekoj." The black Dragga gave her an unreadable glance, full of sympathy and something like . . . fear? When they reached the bottom of the valley, they turned as one towards the trees. Lush undergrowth whipped past Citegrene's face as the small company sprinted through the forest.

After several minutes, the wolves slowed and came to a halt before the ruins of a once grand human shelter. Thick vines crawled through crevices in the stone walls, climbing upwards towards the sun. The ceiling was still intact, but dusty bricks were crumbling into powdery heaps at the base of the ancient walls. Crows ominously cawwed from their perches on the roof, their beedy little eyes hungrily gazing down at the wolves.

Some of the males impatiently pawed the ground and snorted. Citegrene stared ahead blankly at the ruins. An enormous doorway yawned into blackness. Fear prickled up the she-wolf's spine as the tension in the clearing crawled upwards. _What are we waiting for?_

Someone nudged Citegrene's haunch, and she relunctantly padded towards the gaping hole. High pitched maniacal laughter echoed darkly from within, causing the crows to scream and fly away in a flurry of feathers. Citegrene whipped her head around to glance nervously back at the wolves behind her. The black one nodded slightly, and indicated that he alone would follow her inside. With a fluttery nervousness knotting her in the pit of her stomach, Citegrene gingerly placed a paw through the doorway into the darkness, thinking all the while that, if the past few days had been bad, she was now entering a whole new ring of hell.


	7. Chapter 7: Traveling

**Chapter 7**

Eneres woke to find herself curled inside the tent, a small blanket draped gently over her midsection. Yawning tremendously, she struggled to get up, but found that her new, life-filled muscles worked just as well as a newborn pup's.

_Damn . . . _she thought, snarling viciously at her own limbs. It took quite a bit of time (much longer than Eneres liked) to stand up, and even walking frustrated her. As she wobbled over to the flap of the tent, which led outside, her memory of what had happened flooded back to her, of how she had gotten here, how she had escaped, her duty and her mission. These thoughts made her all the more frustrated with herself as she pushed open the flap, stumbling back inside with a yelp anyways, for the bright sun blinded her eyes.

_Why am I acting like such a pup?_ she growled at herself. She took a few extra minutes to calm herself and let her muscles drink in their growing strength; it would fully return in a few hours of running. Taking one deep and succulent breath to refresh herself, she moved her paws slowly, putting one in front of the other as she stepped outside. She almost fell back into the tent when a face greeted her almost immediately.

"Are you okay?" the face asked.

"What the . . ." Eneres whispered, looking into the young wolf's eyes.

"Toboe, back off, she's probably scared enough as it is," another voice said, farther back. It seemed haughty and rough, and frankly rather smug.

"Who said I was scared, hot stuff," snapped Eneres, sensing a mixed reaction.

"Whoa, now, let's not get into any fights," yet another voice said, rather comedic-like.

"Why don't you listen to your friend there and back off," Eneres spat into the young wolf Toboe's face. His eyes saddened a little, and his ears twitched back, but he cocked his head and turned away, tail wagging.

Eneres turned to the left; the soft, barely perceptible scent of Cheza floated around her nostrils, and she took a step to trot away, when Toboe spoke again. "Aren't you even going to tell us who you are?"

"Why?" mumbled Eneres, getting quite irritated.

"Why not?"

"Toboe, leave her alone! Don't you know when somebody's getting annoyed?" came the rough voice.

"Yeah, it's a wonder, with you around." The comedic voice.

"Guys, cool it, all right?" It was Kiba. With interest now tagging at the back of her mind, Eneres turned and looked at the small pack of four, sitting on her haunches and looking at them with distaste. "I'm Kiba," he said, walking up to her.

"Ah, monsieur, we've met before," Eneres said suavely, but quite sarcastically.

Kiba scowled slightly, but continued introductions. "This is Toboe . . ." he pointed to the small one, "and Tsume," he gestured to the rough-voiced one, who hardened his eyes, "and Hige." The comedic-voiced wolf gave a cocky smile and a wave of his tail.

"Hmm, interesting. Well I must be going, ta-ta, pip-pip, cheerio and all that." Eneres walked off, smiling at her 'famous' and favorite dismissal: the blow-off-everything-you-just-said one. _Ugh, I don't have time for this!_

"Who are you? I believe we have met, but I don't know your name." Kiba ran up along side her, blocking her way.

"Ha, can you believe this, Citegrene? He wants to know who _I _am! The nerve . . ." whispered Eneres to herself.

"Who are you talking to?" growled Tsume.

Eneres laughed again, but continued, "I am the Way, the . . . Path, if you will."

"Yeah, but what's your name!?" blurted Toboe.

"My name is . . . Eneres."

All was silent for a minute, and Eneres rolled her eyes and walked past Kiba, head held high. With the smell of Cheza pulling her along, Eneres not too swiftly began her journey to find the Flower-Maiden, almost begging that it would lead her to Citegrene in the process. It didn't matter which she found first (although she was almost certain she would find Cheza first anyway), as long as she found them both. She needed them. She just . . . couldn't function without having them by her side. Swimming in her reminiscence, she could almost hear Citegrene crunching in the dirt beside her, and she turned her head to make a comment to her.

"I think tha . . . " But to her horror, it wasn't Citegrene at all. It was Toboe, smiling at her with his biggest wolf grin, looking at her with much playful curiosity. "What the hell!?" she snarled, jumping back, hackles raised and teeth bared. "Why are you following me!?"

"It's not just me," Toboe said sullenly, almost taking offense at her comment. Eneres spun around to find Kiba, Hige, and even the haughty Tsume following her.

"What . . . the hell . . . are you guys doing," said Eneres, low and slow, punctuating every word with every amount of venom that she could muster. _Damn, Citegrene, why aren't you making a comment? That's the best I can come up with and you know it!_

"We're finding Cheza," said Hige, cocking his head. "I thought you said she knew, Kiba."

"She does; she told me," said Kiba through narrowed eyes.

"When? What did I tell you?" Eneres snarled, realizing what mistake she had cost herself back between the worlds.

"You told me back . . . there, that you would take me to Cheza," growled Kiba, getting a bit tense.

"Um, ya! I told _you_ I would take _you _to Cheza . . . not your little . . . family fanatics here," she spat back, cursing her tongue.

"They go wherever I go. There's nothing you can do about it," replied Kiba.

Eneres groaned loudly, and set off at a dead run, hoping her speed would throw them off. But of course, being the new, weakling muscles they were, they tripped upon themselves and gave out, and she slid on her chest about 20 feet before stopping and nearly ripping her paws to shreds in the angst of it. The others ran up to her, looking at her curiously, but she merely got up, shook herself off, put her tail up as high as it would go, and trotted off with her nose pointed to the clouds above.

* * *

"Ugh, how much further?" Hige and Toboe groaned at the same time.

_Well, that's a new one_, thought Eneres, not bothering to answer their million-time-repeated question and bristling a tad. Before, Hige and Toboe had been taking turns asking this statement, but them saying it together was a whole new thing.

Kiba was silent, and Tsume was fuming in the back, obviously getting as sick of it as Eneres was.

"We'll get there when we get there," murmured Eneres, trying not to blow Cheza's scent away with her breath.

"What?" Hige and Toboe asked simultaneously.

"We'll get there WHEN WE GET THERE!" Tsume yelled at them, finally losing his temper. Eneres chuckled quietly to herself. The gray wolf was quite efficient at expressing Eneres' untold emotions.

Kiba ran up alongside Eneres in front. "Really, how much further do we have to go? We've been walking for nearly 4 days already and neither of them have had a bite to eat."

"They don't know what real hunger is, do they, Citegrene," whispered Eneres.

Kiba looked at her curiously, but changed the subject. "So, how exactly do you know? Or are you just guessing?"

Eneres spun around and got near to Kiba's face, making him run into her nose a bit, and causing the others to halt behind Kiba. "How exactly do I guess what?" she snarled at him, eyes flaring.

"How do you know where Cheza is?" Kiba asked.

"It's called a nose, it works because of a brain, do you have one?" she spat, and turned back around, picking up Cheza's scent and setting off at a hard trot, making Hige and Toboe groan once again, and leaving Kiba growling at her nasty remark. "We will rest at the next city, 50 miles away," Eneres yelled to the rest behind her.

"WHAT!?" she heard them all exclaim.

"We need to eat something," Tsume growled. "While you and Kiba sat stuffing your faces back at the Indian camp, we were sitting there watching you."

"Not my problem," sniffed Eneres. She stopped and turned around to look at all the sad and disgruntled faces. "If you can't keep up, then you will be left behind."

"Maybe that would be the best idea," said Tsume, and Eneres swore she saw Hige nod his head also.

"What do you mean, Tsume?" confronted Kiba. "She's taking us to Cheza."

"How do you know that? She could be leading us to Darcia . . . or worse," Tsume yelled back. The rest of the wolves shuddered at Tsume's mention of something worse than Darcia.

"Well, then, if you want to leave, go ahead, be my guests, you will just drag me down anyways. Au revoir." Praying to Tor and Fenris that nobody had any objections, she turned around and kept walking.

"She promised me that she would take me to Cheza, and she seems to know where she's going. I don't know what your problem is, Tsume, but I'm going to follow," said Kiba, and Eneres swore under her breath as his footsteps could be heard next to her.

"Me too," said Toboe.

"If it takes us to some food, I'll follow," said Hige, shrugging and walking too. More volleys of cursing from Eneres. Of course, since Tsume didn't want to be left alone, he slowly got up and followed the rest of the gang, grumbling all the while.

The rest of the trip was almost uneventful, with Eneres in the lead, sniffing down Cheza and mumbling to herself. She would often laugh at some unheard joke and say something right back, which confused Kiba and the others quite profoundly. After a while, Kiba permitted Hige and Tsume to hunt for nearby prey, and the small pack stopped to feast on the small pickings, while Eneres merely just slowed her pace, hoping she could get far enough away from them while still conserving limited energy. But, as usual, they were right up along side her in a few more minutes, their muzzles stained red with the blood from the prey.

Eneres inhaled deeply after a long time of traveling, trying to pick out Cheza's scent within the many smells of the nearby city. _Oh joy,_ she thought. _The smell of pollution._

"The city is drawing closer," she said. But something had changed. Instead of hearing four paws hitting the ground beside her, she heard two. Turning around, she jumped back and bared her teeth. Kiba, Hige, Tsume and Toboe were all in their human forms, looking at her curiously. "What in Tor's name are you doing?"

"We can't go into the city as wolves," said human-Toboe. "We might get killed."

"How can you degrade yourselves like this?" growled Eneres.

"Well, there aren't any other ways of getting into and through the city," reasoned Kiba.

"Why, do you know any other ways, O Mighty and Resourceful One?" taunted Hige.

"Do I know any other ways of getting through the city, they ask, Citegrene," laughed Eneres. "What foolish pups they are." She turned to the pack. "You are wolves! Fiercest among fierce; strongest among strong; I believe there are other ways of getting through this pitiful human city."

"Who the hell is this . . . Citegrene you keep talking about?" yelled Tsume, getting fed up with Eneres's cockiness.

Eneres dismissed the comment and trotted away into the boundaries of the city as a wolf, calling behind her, "If you want to see Paradise, I suggest you stay as wolf-like as possible. Follow me, o naïve ones."


	8. Chapter 8: The Prophecy

**Chapter 8**

Citegrene stepped through the dark threshold. She felt the black wolf brush past her, and heard him say softly, "Wait here." He stalked forward, the darkness enveloping him as he went. Anxiously, Citegrene waited, shivering as a draft ruffled through her thick fur. Though it wasn't entirely from the cold.

There was a rustling sound, and light flooded into the room. Citegrene drew back from the light, squinting, her lip curling in a snarl. In a flash, the black wolf was back at her side, nudging her forward. Citegrene almost turned around and snapped at him, but checked her anger and stepped into the light.

"Ahhh . . . so there's a beauty I've never seen before." Two cunning eyes flashed in the darkness as the smooth voice sounded. "You look depressed . . . now, now, there's no need for the long face when in the presence of one such as myself," the voice cooed. "You should be honored to be sought after by so many, especially the First Wolf." Citegrene looked at her escort. Glaring, anger flared up in her chest. _One of them is lying . . . but I don't know which._ A stab of guilt pierced her heart for actually believing either one of them. There was something about the black one that made her angry, but yet . . . she had felt like she could trust him.

Purring, the voice spoke again. "Oh, did your little friend here tell you otherwise? You must know that _I_ am the First Wolf, right?" Citegrene thought she saw the eyes spark evilly.

"Stop toying with me and get to the point," Citegrene snarled, her accented voice bouncing around the room.

"Oooh, a little fire in you. I like that." She stiffened, rage coursing through her. "However, do you _really_ believe that your little . . ." the voice fished around for a word, "_girlfriend_ escaped the flames unscathed? Do you _really_ . . . want to know . . . who started it all . . ." The eyes shifted their intense gaze from Citegrene to the black wolf.

Anger built up further in her blood as she gazed into the shadows into those eyes, full of cunning and . . . insanity. Citegrene then turned to face the lupine at her side. If she couldn't trust him, why should she trust this sweet-talking voice in the shadows? But it didn't matter now, because she couldn't stop her blood rising, the rage threatening to overcome her, even as the smooth voice spoke again, gleefully. "Would you like to know . . . what he did to her before she died? They say that her screams still echo around her deathbed . . ."

The next instants went by in a flash. Citegrene sprang towards the shadows, hate burning in her eyes. Her mouth chomped down on something that felt like fur, while high-pitched laughter sounded by her ears. In a frenzy, she slashed and bit, tore and gouged, and even when she was dragged away from her enemy by the black wolf, she kept on going. Turning around, the bloodlust was all that existed in her mind, was all that existed in her whole being. The she-wolf viciously savaged the black wolf, tossing his body back outside the stone house, leaping after him.

His blood was seeping into the dingy water of a puddle, dying it a ruddy metallic hue. Citegrene landed lightly next to him, snarling, then reared back her head. An unfathomable fire was in her eyes; a fire fueled by many years of guilt; a fire that was about to have its thirst for blood slaked as she killed this wolf who had taken all she held dear. She lunged, her sharp-toothed maw gaping open.

"Don't!" The plea was soft, but managed to pierce through the blood haze in Citegrene's mind. Her eyes opened wide as the full moon. Quickly, she backed away, shaking her head to escape the voice.

"No . . . it _can't_ be . . ." In the blood-red puddle swam the image of a white wolf, as pure as snow, with the gentlest, most compassionate eyes; eyes full of love for the world and everything in it. Citegrene felt tears well up in her own as she whispered the name. "Larka?"

"Citegrene, do not do this. The world is corrupt enough without one more killer in it, especially you. You know who you truly are, and this is not it. Don't let the past determine your actions in the present, for one of pure spirit and one of pure body are needed to open the way to Paradise. You know which one you are . . ." Larka's soothing voice began to fade away.

"Wait! How can I shake off the past? I've done terrible things! I _killed_ her! I _killed_ her, Larka!! How can I be forgiven for _that_ . . ." Tears started to pour out of Citegrene's eyes. It had been so long since she had last let it all go that they felt alien to her, streaking down her furry cheeks, leaving trails of grief and sorrow. In the puddle, the beautiful she-wolf smiled, a smile full of love, compassion, and forgiveness.

"You know which one you are . . ." It felt so _good_ to just let the tears come, for her spirit needed respite and refreshment. Each tear seemed to lighten a burden of guilt in her mind, until the stream slowed, and finally, stopped, leaving her feeling better than she had felt in years. All of her anger at herself and at the world seemed to disappear, until there was a completely different Citegrene standing over the body of the black wolf.

"You know which one you are . . ." And with that, the voice was gone. The she-wolf stared into the puddle where Larka's face had been, but instead she saw a monster: her own reflection of a beautiful golden muzzle, covered with blood. She tore her gaze away, and saw him.

His once glorious pelt was mangled with many, many cuts and scratches. She thanked Tor and Fenris that most were shallow. They would heal in a short amount of time. But the cuts that she could see on his soul would take far longer, for he gazed up at her with a horrible, life-consuming fear in his eyes. Citegrene dropped to her paws, staring at him with the horror at what she had done. Almost nervously, she leaned forward, gently rubbing her face against his. "Oh, I am so sorry . . ." Slowly, the fear drained from his eyes, replaced by a new emotion.

Citegrene saw that in him, and she felt a confused tug at her heart. Part of her wanted to follow him into the depths of that feeling, but part of her shied back from him. The things she had thought he had done, was there any truth in them at all? She snapped her head around to look into the house as she remembered Rekoj.

He was standing in the shadows, trembling with silent laughter. Gently, savoring time itself, he placed one paw out of the darkness. "You've got fight in you . . . I like that." Another paw emerged. The light slowly slid over his muzzle, up to his dark, piercing eyes. Fear; true, horrifying fear stabbed through Citegrene's heart. Rekoj laughed evilly. He would enjoy this.

And then he was gone under a pile of rubble and dust, rocks tumbling down on him. A huge rumbling noise shook the earth, making pebbles jitter off of the ground and kicking up more dust. Out of the cloud appeared a huge war machine. It's laser eyes locked onto Citegrene, and there was much clinking as a gun appeared from the shell of metal, firing a machine gun burst. She screamed to the prone wolf, "Get up!" and together they leapt into the trees. The black machine trucked after them, blowing up trees and driving over them in its pursuit of the enemy.

The wolves burst into the valley clearing, only to find chaos all around. Hounds bayed as they attacked the Balkar, and armored humans gunned them down from a distance. The wolves put up a good fight, but were horribly outnumbered both by numbers and by wits. The air was dark with dirt, and the lake was turning red with blood as dogs and wolves alike were slaughtered on its banks. Looking every which way, the only scent Citegrene could smell was one of fear and adrenaline.

Behind her, a huge crunching signaled the arrival of the machine. It burst through the trees, almost plowing right over Citegrene and the black wolf. Hastily, they leaped out of the way, sprinting alongside the treeline towards the gently sloping side of the bowl valley. They could hear the machine ready itself to fire, and then a huge burst of shrapnel hit Citegrene in the flank. She howled in agony, but sprinted right through the line of humans guarding the valley entrance. They were so surprised that they didn't react until both of the wolves were free and clear, over the lip of the hill and running off to freedom.

Citegrene and the black wolf ran, side by side, down the hill and off through the woods. She was surprised at how well he was keeping up with his injuries, and she felt pity for him, but she didn't want to risk slowing until they were well away from the humans. After several tense minutes of awkward silence, he started to lag behind. Citegrene slowed them down to an easy jog. The black wolf looked blankly ahead for a while, then he opened his mouth.

"Thank you . . . for saving me back there, even though I did not deserve it for what I've put you through."

Citegrene replied, "Every creature deserves a second chance. The fault is my own . . . I . . . I haven't been the same since . . . that night . . ." She stopped, then took a deep breath. "Did you really . . . cause it all? Did you hurt Eneres?"

"No. That's just a pack of lies Rekoj made up to piss you off. But you aren't the only victim of his lies."

Citegrene slowed to a halt in a clearing on the edge of the forest. "So . . . he was lying about him being First Wolf, right?"

"No, that one was the truth."

"Then why did _you_ lie to me."

"I didn't . . . you are First Wolf in the minds of many Balkar." Citegrene stared hard at him. After a thoughtful silence, she decided that she could trust him.

"Either way, you are going to be First Wolf in the end. Rekoj . . . he, well, he came to us one night, beaten and broken. We took him in, thinking that he would be a great new addition to our pack." A fire lit up in his eyes as he continued.

"He rose quickly through the ranks. Too quickly. I saw it coming, but I was powerless to stop it. Then, one night, we found our leader, _dead._" The black wolf spat with rage, "And Rekoj was standing over his body with our dead leader's bloody heart hanging out of his unworthy mouth."

Citegrene rubbed her head against him comfortingly, but he pulled away. She could see in him that awful guilt that had clung to her so long was now consuming him.

"Do you know the ways that the First Wolf can be succeeded? Well, first is if the leader dies naturally. Whoever he has chosen is the one to take his place. Second, is if he is killed. Then, his slayer can succeed him." He glanced at Citegrene. She shook her great head in denial. "But, if he is exiled, then one can take his place as well." At this, he turned to face her. "You are already heralded as the next First Wolf, and Rekoj knows that. He will do anything to get you out of his way, but at the same time he wants you at his side. Citegrene, you need to watch out. Rekoj is completely insane, and no one knows what he is going to do next. Not even I."

"You believe Rekoj is still alive?"

"There is no way in _hell_ that he's dead."

"How do you know all of this?" Citegrene tried to ask in a strong voice, but instead it came out a whisper.

"You have figured it out already, haven't you?"

She gulped. "So, then, it's true?"

He gave her a half-smile, then turned away. Citegrene cried, "That's how you always know what I'm going to do next in battle! That's how you knew the humans were coming to the valley! You didn't smell them, " Seeing him walk away, his hindquarters swaying painfully side to side, she yelled, "Wait!" Turning back, he already knew what was on her mind, but she said it anyways. "Why are all of the males . . . so . . ."

"So keen to be with you? Haven't you heard the prophecy?"

"Only the part that matters most."

He gave her a strange look, then sat down gingerly, clearing his throat as if for a long story. He took a deep breath, then started in a deep, powerful voice, "'This is how it was passed down to me, and so, I now pass it down to you:

_When the world is burnt and dying;  
__When there's no refuge to be found  
__From past sins and fatal lying,  
__Then great evil shall abound._

_The masked one shall heed his calling  
__To dark deeds and evil ways.  
__He shall keep the world forestalling  
__From the future's bliss-filled days._

_Second journey, now begun,  
__Will be far harder than the last.  
__For now, instead of four and one,  
__Two will need to complete the task._

_Gold and silver, passion and fire,  
__Born to save the world from sin.  
__Learn to love, to live, to die,  
__For what's worth believing in._

_One of pure soul, heart and mind,  
__Shall open up the gates of fate.  
__Power, who will redefine  
__The laws of nature, as her mate._

_One of pure body, flesh and blood,  
__Will lead wolves down the path of life.  
__Her mate: his past as dark as mud,  
__Who's seen much suff'ring, pain and strife._

_Both pure body and soul combined,  
__Will open up true Paradise.  
__But they will need to cross the line:  
__One dead body will suffice._

_As powers beyond reckoning  
__Watch the last upheaval,  
__Time will be beckoning  
__For good to conquer evil._

_Paradise, the open door,  
__What mighty wolves protected,  
__Is so much grander, so much more,  
__Than ever was expected.'"_

His last words rang about the quiet clearing. After hearing the Prophecy, Citegrene grew uncomfortable in his presence. She had heard the stanza about how both one of pure body and one of pure soul were needed to open Paradise, but she never had any idea that there was an _entire_ prophecy dedicated to her. That storyteller had been right, many years ago, when she had told Eneres and Citegrene that they were to be the openers of Paradise . . .

A twig snapped. The male wolf jumped up and sniffed the breeze. "Dammit! How could I not have scented them!?" Just then, a dart whistled through the trees and pierced his flank. Howling, he fell onto his side as the poison seeped into his veins and quickly took over. Citegrene looked around wildly, snarling ferociously. Something pricked her side, and she looked down to see a gold feathered dart sticking out of her chest. Instantly, the substance in it worked its way through her body, cutting off her muscles from her nervous system. Her great head flopped onto the ground as she woozily saw figures spring out of the trees, grabbing onto her fur and throwing her into some kind of crate.

"Heh, Lord Darcia's going to be pleased with this one! Look, she's golden! I've never even heard of a golden wolf in my entire life!"

"You've hardly heard of any wolf in your entire life."

"Bah, that's beside the point . . ." Citegrene's eyes closed as the drug overwhelmed her.


	9. Chapter 9: Reluctantly Human

**Chapter 9**

"I don't like sneaking around like this," muttered Tsume from behind a crate.

"Too bad; humans cramp my style," Eneres whispered back. Since she had refused to appear human, the wolves had resorted to sneaking through the city, preying on pigeons and other birds to keep their grumbling bellies (mainly Hige's) from giving them away. It was quite humiliating, but Eneres had already bent that low before. So far, they had only encountered a couple of humans, of which they had silenced quickly with a simple bite on the neck. Eneres was almost desperate to keep her wolf form, and it seemed quite strange to the other wolves, who had no problem appearing human.

"What's her problem?" mouthed Hige to Kiba. Kiba replied with his best wolf shrug he could muster.

_Yeah, Eneres, why don't you like appearing human?_ thought Eneres, making up for Citegrene again, her amazingly sharp hearing picking up on the question. _It's not like you're going to be banished or anything. It's easy. Cheza's human-like._

_Well Cheza doesn't have the option!_ she continued, now arguing as herself. _And besides; I don't want to take the chance of tainting. I HATE my human form._

_How do you know? _I've _never even seen your human form, so how do I know you've tried it?_

_Trust me, the best way is the way I'm doing it, right now._

_But when will it be the worst way? When you're stuck in a cage?_

Eneres slowed, a snarl playing around her lips. _Oh, Citegrene, why must you reason everything you see wrong?_ Eneres looked to the sky, halting her running completely. Kiba stopped as well, and Toboe and Tsume ran into his rear, causing Kiba to run into Eneres'.

"Quit it!" she hissed, the snarl winning over her. Then something in the back of the alleyway they were hiding in caught her eye. Kiba and the others must have seen the look on her face, for they immediately (and perhaps instinctively) appeared human, gazing around the alleyway nonchalantly. Only Eneres was left in wolf form, and she was staring in horror and disbelief, partly at Kiba and the others for abandoning her plan, and partly at the figure who was standing at the end of the alley. She was not in the best position; Kiba, Tsume, Toboe and Hige were looking at the figure, standing like addicts, and Eneres was sitting behind a crate, looking like she was about to pounce and attack them. _Shit!_ she exclaimed to herself as the figure, a guard, clad in black armor, yelled down the other end, calling for his buddies. He held up a tranquilizer gun, and Eneres saw his finger twitch as he pulled the trigger.

"No!" she heard Kiba say as she ducked behind the crate. The dart sank into the crate, and Eneres heard more footsteps as the rest of the guard's team advanced upon the alley.

"Move!" she heard one of the guards shout, and she guessed that someone had jumped out in front of them, trying to block their way. The only escape route for her was into the streets, which was just as dangerous as sitting where she was. Hearing sounds of struggling and a fight, Eneres decided to make a dash for it. She bolted, leaving the safety of behind the crate and running out of the alleyway into the street. Thank Tor that it wasn't rush hour, but it was still busy enough for Eneres to get honked at by a few cars; their tires squealing as they slammed on the brakes, trying not to run over the silver she-wolf. A gunshot was heard behind her, missing completely, hitting a car window and shattering it, the glass coating the road. Eneres made it to the other side of the road with only a small piece of glass in her back paw, and she ran down another alleyway, squeezing herself in a large open pipe stuck out of the side of a wall.

_Damn, Citegrene, how could I have been so foolish?_ she whimpered as she pulled the glass out of her foot.

"You okay?" said Hige, looking into the pipe. "Are you . . . crying?"

"No, I'm perfectly fine," spat Eneres, trying not to sound sarcastic. "And I most certainly _don't_ cry."

"Sure sounded like it to me," grumbled Tsume in the back.

"Maybe you should get your ears checked," sniffed Eneres, climbing out of the pipe.

"Maybe you should check your ideas before you put them into action," sneered Tsume. "Don't you have a good enough reason _now_ to travel through the city as a human?"

"And what reason would that be?"

"Almost getting yourself and us killed?"

Eneres knew this was coming, but rolled her eyes anyways, setting off a low growl from Tsume. Closing her eyes, taking a deep breath, she allowed her form to appear human, which set off gasps from the rest of the small pack. She opened her eyes to find astonished faces from everybody (some more than others). Eneres knew how she looked: silver hair put into braids, which hung over her shoulders down to her stomach; short bangs down to her eyes; an elbow-length maroon shirt and dark jeans that narrowed her legs. But she knew it wasn't any of those things that set off the gasps. It was her eyes. They looked human in shape, but the color . . . oh, that damned color; they looked exactly as they did when she was a wolf; the most piercing golden-green you can imagine, and they set off her silver hair, making it seem to glow.

"What?" she snapped irritably.

"I don't think that appearing as a human will help us through the city, Kiba," mumbled Toboe, staring at Eneres' face.

Eneres curled her lips like a snarl, but only looked at them with distaste. "Do you understand, _now_?"

"The only thing really out of place is your hair and eyes," reasoned Hige, giving a professor sort of look. "All we have to do is cover your hair and you can avert your eyes easily enough." Hige pulled off his sweatshirt and stuck it on Eneres, much to her absolute disgust, for it was quite overly large, and it smelled really bad. "Just put the hood up and tuck your hair behind and you should be all right."

"Thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanks," Eneres spat, shoving her arms through the sleeves. _Oh, Tor and Fenris, why has my status decreased to wearing smelly sweatshirts?_

"We should get moving before another guard team moves in," suggested Kiba, and Eneres guessed that they had killed off the last one.

And with that, they trotted off down another dark alleyway.

* * *

A couple of hours later they decided to rest, and Eneres ungratefully accepted the idea, although her body thanked her profoundly when she finally sat down. Hige's sweatshirt smelled terrible, and having to look at the ground while walking through dark alleyways was not quite what she had in mind. Her human legs were all banged up from running into objects in the alleyways that she couldn't have seen . . . because she couldn't look up. It didn't take her long before she curled up on the ground and fell asleep to her silvery braid tickling her nose.

For the first time in a while, Tsume could actually look at Eneres without being glared at, or having to look aloof or angry. He was strangely attracted to the silver she-wolf; maybe it was because she looked so like him; maybe it was because she had a temper to match his; maybe it was because she had the comments to flame up anyone's attitude. Like . . . him. As she lay there, her silvery braid hanging in her face, Tsume was tempted to go up to her and get a close look at her face; the high cheekbones, the perfectly curved lips that looked like they were carved by angels. But he couldn't. Something was nagging at him, and he couldn't say what, but it was partly from the fact that she might wake up and nearly rip him to shreds. He couldn't place a paw on it, but something about her seemed . . . inimitable . . .


	10. Chapter 10: Scars

**A/N:** Hello, once more! Syri here, and both I and Strelli would just like to say thanks for reading this so far! Hopefully you find more reasons to keep tagging along on this journey as you venture further into the unkown . . . Thanks again for reading, and please review! Constructive criticism is welcomed with open arms, but flames will be stored in the dark corner of a pantry and collected until the time is right . . . Rekoj, beware. :P

Once again, this story was purely made for the enjoyment of you guys, and just because we were bored and tend to do strange little group projects when we are bored. :P

Syri & Strelli

Tiger's Fury & Lion's Heart

* * *

**Chapter 10**

_Flames roared around the valley, licking up both buildings and flora alike. The once green sanctuary was now dangerous hues of red, orange, yellow, and white, and smoke twirled up into a sky dominated by the blood red moon. Through the crackling of fire and the breaking of timber, a sad, mournful howl rose up in the midst of the burning; long, low, and loud._

_"Eneres!" Citegrene yelled, racing towards the lone figure on top of a rise. Flaming, a tree branch snapped off above, almost falling on top of her, but she deftly swerved and continued to dash upwards. "Eneres!" she cried when she reached the silver wolf. "Eneres, come! We need to go, now!"_

_Turning her sad, tear-filled eyes to face her best friend, Eneres wailed, "I lost Cheza!" Her dreadful crooning was a pitiful sound from one so strong. Citegrene looked on with despair._

_"We can find her _later_, Eneres! All is not lost, just get out of the fire's path. Come on! All of the other wolves have escaped; it's just you left! Let's go!"_

_"Leave me, Citegrene. I need to think."_

_"ENERES, there's no time!!!" Citegrene growled, grabbed her by the scruff, and started to haul the limp she-wolf away. Eneres snarled demonically, and slashed Citegrene across the side, leaving a thin red line of blood. The golden wolf yelped in surprise and let go._

_"I said, LEAVE ME!" Eneres stood there, huffing, rage and hatred in her eyes. There was also something close to fear, an emotion Citegrene had never seen before in her friend.__After several tense minutes of silence, each wolf staring down the other, Citegrene spoke in a low tone._

_"Very well . . ." She sprang down the slope, hoping with all of her heart that Eneres would change her mind and follow. When she reached the bottom near the tree line, she looked back. Eneres stood there, hunched over and sulking. There was an ominous crack, and then the wolf was buried under a burst of sparks and wood._

_"ENERES, NO!!!!!!!!!!!!" Citegrene flew back up the hill, through the sparks and flames. She felt no physical pain, not even when her ankle caught in a rut and twisted with a sickening crunch. "NOOOOOO!!!" She fell to the ground, horrible yelps escaping from her pain-wracked soul, as if she were the one dying. "No, no, no, no, NO!! ENERES!" She threw back her head and howled her grief to the flame-consumed world as her friend was consumed in the flames._

_Citegrene's song rose and fell like a cry from the darkest pits of torment and despair, a cry that carried her broken spirit away from that horrible place. Citegrene gave up all hope and stood up to throw herself into the flames, for life was not worth living without Eneres._

_A slight warmth on her body made the golden wolf sadly look down at the little pup that sat there, nuzzling against her leg. Soot covered its furry body, concealing very well the fact that it had a white pelt. Citegrene's eyes hardened as she thought of how it wasn't fair that Eneres had had to go through this, and how this little wolf would have the chance to live. Her lip curled in a snarl as she thought of how this whelp had the nerve to touch her at a time like this. What, did he want to die, too?_

Citegrene . . ._ The she-wolf snapped her head, and saw in the flames the haunting image of a white she-wolf. As quickly as it had appeared, it was gone. Snorting and shaking her head to rid her mind's eye of the image, she snatched up the wolf pup in her teeth and sprang off towards the woods._

_Once she reached the bottom of the hill, she couldn't stand it anymore. Setting the light pup down by a tree on the forest's edge, she snarled at it, it's wide, blue eyes staring up at her, its tail wagging happily. "Never again shall I save one that is unworthy of saving. Never again shall I have kindness on those who don't deserve it. Pup, mark my words, the only reason you are still alive is because you are young and have seen nothing of this harsh, cruel world. May you grow up to be a light to brighten the darkness. But if I ever catch you being unworthy, I will hunt you down. We _will _meet again, young cub." And with that, she threw her head back to the crimson moon and howled, "Tor! Fenris! If you do exist, then why did you make the world so cruel? Why did you kill off one of your greatest servants?! Where the hell were you when she needed you most!?"_

If only Cheza hadn't been taken . . . _Citegrene, grief-stricken, slammed her head against the nearest tree. Another howl of mourning and self-hate rumbled up from her chest and was unleashed into the smoky night air. _Why, why Eneres? Why couldn't it have been _me_ instead?

_A dark shape stirred on the edge of vision. Citegrene's heart fluttered as she looked its way, yelling hopefully, "Eneres?" The figure was too large to be the silver she-wolf as it gazed out into the night, with its side to Citegrene. Once it heard her cry, looked at her with one dark eye, a grin spreading across its face. Its horrible, twisted mouth opened as it slowly turned its muzzle to face her fully._

"_I_ have Cheza."

* * *

Citegrene woke up to a hard jolt, feeling that sense of guilt and despair looming over her, waiting to overpower her. Coarse, evil laughter echoed all around her as she opened her piercing blue eyes to see a blurry face close up. Surprised, she sprang quickly onto her feet. _Smack!_ Stars swam across her vision after the hard collision of her head and the low cage ceiling.

"Aww, did I scare you?" The voice chuckled some more, then instantly dropped low and dangerous. "Where is she?" Citegrene shook her head to clear her vision, then glared at the evil man crouched just outside of her cage.

"Where is _who?_" she snapped, staring into those dark eyes, full of cunning and insanity. A strange sort of fear filled Citegrene as she took in her enemy; a fear of the unexpected. He looked like a wild card.

Curly grass green locks fell to the strong shoulders, framing his square jaw and chalk-white face. Black rings of smudged kohl crudely circled the dark orbs that were set underneath thick eyebrows. Blood red coloring enhanced his lips and . . . scars.

He noticed Citegrene's scrutiny and cracked a yellow toothed grin. His voice was playful as he asked, "Do you want to know how I got these scars?" He pointed to the knotted, distorted lines of skin that stretched from the corners of his mouth halfway to his ears. No attempt at subtlety made, one of his hands dug through a pocket in his conspicuous purple coat, withdrawing a small, sharp knife. He eyed it almost lovingly, then flicked his intense gaze back onto Citegrene. Quick as a snake, his arms flashed through the bars and grabbed the wolf's furry head. Her yelp was cut short as he hauled her closer to the bars, closer to him as his eyes drilled holes into her very soul. Oh, it was so tempting to just give in to him, to evil itself, and to let her darker side take over once again. But something inside told her to keep fighting.

Her head was already pushing against the iron stakes, but the man still pulled her closer, as if even he wasn't sure what to do next. It was so intense that she saw his human image flicker a few times, revealing the wolf beneath, the wolf from the shadows of the ruined house back at the valley of the Balkar.

Rolling his eyes quickly, his tongue darted out to wet his lips as he began speaking in a far darker tone, "Well, you see, my brother was a _nasty_ corrupt little cop, and one day, he decided to come home and play 'stick 'em up' with me. With his gun to my forehead, he says to me, 'You've been a bad boy, but you don't ever seem to enjoy being bad. Bad boys always smile when they do something _bad . . ._' And so, he pulls out his dirty little cop knife, and sticks it in my mouth, like this." He demonstrated by shoving his blade into Citegrene's jaw, pushing it hard against the corner of her lips. A drop of blood trickled down her parched throat. "'You need to _smile_ more,' he says. So, he takes his knife . . . and he does _this_."

The blade easily sliced through her skin, leaving the left edge of her mouth hanging open in two flaps, blood spilling everywhere. Agony split through Citegrene's head, a loud scream escaped from her throat.

The man seemed to enjoy this very much, and cackled evilly. The red tongue flicked out and wet his lips once more. "But, now I look on the bright side; now, I'm _always_ smiling." He quickly shoved the blade against the other side of Citegrene's mouth, but the she-wolf snapped at his hand defensively, her jaws closing on thin air.

Blood flowed down her cheek as she stared at the man with an anger so deep, so primal, she thought she had locked it away after hearing Larka's sweet voice. "You will _pay_ for this!" she growled. The man simply waggled his finger at her tauntingly.

"Oh, I most certainly hope so. There is much more to come once we meet again. But now, _now_, you still haven't answered my question. Where . . . is . . . the Flower Maiden?" Citegrene's eyes widened in shock, but she told the man to eff off, that she didn't know where Cheza was, and that if she did, why would she tell him anyways? He just leered all the more from her fiery reply.

Then a frenzied baying sounded in the distance. Citegrene's tormentor glanced over his shoulder, out of the open back doors of an armored truck that Citegrene had been hauled in. "Until we meet again," he said as he tipped an invisible hat to her, cackling as he jumped out of the truck and ran off.

Citegrene looked on in shock, the pain in the side of her mouth stabbing through her brain. But she was used to pain. She _wasn't_ used to seeing that horrible face of Rekoj, especially as a human. What did he want with her? Why was he looking for Cheza? And how had he gotten to the city so fast?

"Citegrene," a voice sounded, "what did that bastard do to you?" It was the black wolf, his utterance full of anger and concern. Citegrene whimpered in reply, feeling the salty blood trickle into her mouth.

The baying suddenly became loud extremely fast, and a large bluish black dog jumped through the open doors. Its slavering fangs snapped as it barked its head off, trying to reach through the bars to get to the black wolf. Citegrene screamed at it to stop, hoping that the dog was intelligent enough to understand.

Astonishingly, the dog froze in its tracks and turned its piercing blue gaze onto Citegrene. It cocked its head as if listening to some faraway voice, then wagged its tail, once, turning back around and leaping out through the doors. A distant voice yelled, "Blue! Blue, did you get it? Did you get that damned wolf? Oh, there you are, Blue . . . GO FIND IT! GO FIND IT, NOW!!" Blue's barking started up again, this time going in the opposite direction, away from the vehicle which was Citegrene's prison.

"What . . . the hell . . . was that about?" Citegrene chuckled at his comment, immediately berating herself as stinging pain shot up from her torn cheek into her skull. With a new furor in her veins, she attacked the metal bars on her cage, occasionally adjusting her grip in order to prevent her injury from being worsened. The bars bent like butter in her teeth, and soon she was free, working on the black wolf's cage.

"You know . . . you still haven't told me your name," she said after he had slinked through the newly made hole.

"And what made you decide that you want to know that?"

"Well, I need to know what to call you. Come on, you must have a name."

"I don't."

"Why not?"

"I don't know, all right!? My mother died when I was young, and she never named me, okay? End of story." He jumped out of the truck angrily, landing hard. Citegrene heard his grunt of pain and followed him cautiously. The sun beat down on the little alleyway that they were in, and flies buzzed around the dead bodies of their once-alive guards. _Rekoj has a sick sense of humor,_ Citegrene thought as she looked at their carcasses. Their shirts had been torn off and on their bare, hairy chests were the words, "If you can't beat me, join me."

"If we are to survive in this city, we have to work together. Please, just tell me your name."

A growl escaped from his throat as he whirled around, and pinned her to the ground with a lean paw on her throat. He wanted to strike so badly; she could see it in his features. But he couldn't. That gaping gash in the side of her cheek made him visibly wince, his lips curling into a snarl; made him realize what Rekoj had done to the once beautiful golden wolf. Now, blood stained her features; her thick fur was clumped and matted with dirt; her ear had a little clip in it from their captors. His eyes sparked with hope, and as Citegrene looked up at him, full of a compassion born of pity, his anger slowly drained away. Almost fearfully, he turned away from her and whispered, "My name . . . is Natas."

Citegrene inhaled sharply to cover up her surprise. "Who would name y—"

"Enough! I don't want to talk about it." Walking away, he sat down and stared blankly at a wall.

"Well, Natas, we might as well get going. I can scent lunar flowers here, and that's surprising since . . . Eneres is the one with the good nose." Wearily, she struggled to her feet. Already, Citegrene could tell it was going to be a long day.

* * *

Night fell. Stars twinkled overhead in the polluted air as two wolves sat together on a rooftop, looking up at the glowing crescent moon. They were both silent, enjoying a rare time of peace and reminiscing over the day's events. Both had been forced to take on human images to get through the city, but Citegrene had had to cover up the wound on her mouth with a shawl. The thought of how she knew Eneres would react if she ever had to appear human popped into her mind. She could almost hear it now, the endless line of cusses, curses and angry excuses.

The scent of lunar flowers was very strong now. All day had been devoted to following it, but this was Citegrene's first city she had set foot in, and, unknowingly to her, it just happened to be the largest left on earth. At least Natas had known how to navigate the endless alleyways and thronging market streets.

_Cheza must be here somewhere for the place to smell so strongly. _But _why_ was Rekoj here? Why had he threatened another encounter with Citegrene? She remembered the verse from the Prophecy, the one that stated, _"With Power, who will redefine the laws of nature, as her mate."_ Mate? Mate as in a real, flesh and blood wolf, or as another, spiritual part of Citegrene herself? It confused her deeply, and for the umpteenth time, she doubted that the fortune teller from her past had even been right, saying that she would help open Paradise. But then, why did Larka speak to her? What made Citegrene so special?

_"Who will redefine the laws of nature"_ . . . Well, there had been a lot of redefining going on in the past two fortnights. Citegrene had even began redefine herself after her latest encounter with Larka. Boundaries had been crossed and reestablished, and a lot of questions cluttered the she-wolf's mind. With a sigh, she decided that it was time to rest.

As soon as her eyelids shut, a loud crash sounded nearby. Natas growled in his sleep, his muzzle twitching. Citegrene always kept her distance, but the two had started to mend the tense gap that existed between them. They had been forced to work together in order to survive.

There was another clang. Citegrene got up curiously, pain slicing through her cheek. There were voices now, and the golden wolf walked to the edge of the roof, perking up her ears as sounds floated out an open window from the next-door building.

"Jesus, what did you do _this_ time!?"

"John, it wasn't my fault! He had a gun! He trashed the place and he took everything!! Oh, John, he was so scary; he wore this . . . makeup and he . . . What are you doing!?!" A woman screamed, and then there was another crash. "JOHN!!!!!"

Light flooded the dark street below as a door opened. A slim figure ran out, fearfully looking back over her shoulder at the man inside. He leaned against the doorframe, bat in hand, and yelled, "Damn you, woman! Get out of my house, and never come back!!" The door slammed suddenly and the street went dark. Citegrene peered curiously over the ledge, twitching her ears. She sprang and landed lightly on the tar two stories below, projecting her human image as she walked towards the woman.

Long black hair draped over her shoulders, she stood there in the moonlight, weeping into her dainty hands. Then, looking up at the stars, she sniffed and said softly, "Please, Lord . . . Please forgive John. He doesn't know what he is doing, so please forgive his ignorance and bless him with all you have. It is not his fault." She crossed herself, then stared at the ground, sniffing. After several minutes, the woman turned and walked away, her heels clacking on the hard ground. Citegrene stared confusedly at the stars. _Are Tor and Fenris real? What of this Lord? Is He real too? Or are they all just stories for pups?_

"Citegrene . . ." She cocked her head, twitching her ears towards the sound.

"Citegrene . . ." Her lip curled in a snarl as she twirled all about, looking up at the tall buildings surrounding her. Someone was toying with her.

"Citegrene!" She whirled around only to see that Natas' face was inches in front of her own. "What are you doing out here? Are you trying to go solo or something?"

She chuckled, then realized that it wasn't a joke as he glared at her. "Oh, I was just . . . Do you ever wonder if the humans have gods as well? I mean, what if they have the same stories as us, like the story of Sita? What if their tale of a higher being has truth? What if . . ." she looked up at the moon, the light illuminating her fur, "Tor and Fenris aren't alone up there?"

Natas sat down beside her and looked at the wide swath of stars that was the Wolf Trail. To humans, it was the Milky Way, but it held something much more meaningful to wolves. It was the path that wolves took up into heaven to be with Tor and Fenris when they died.

"I'm not sure if I believe in Tor and Fenris, but if they do exist, may they have mercy on us all." The stars seemed so far away, almost unreachable. _What is Paradise Does it exist at all?_

An echo of ominous laughter resounded faintly through the street as Citegrene laid her head on her paws and finally closed her eyes, her body shutting down after the day's terrifying events.


	11. Chapter 11: Listen To Your Heart

**Chapter 11**

Something was bothering Eneres. She didn't know what, but it was making her quite grumpy. She moved her face around, but it only made the sensation worse.

"ACHOO!" she sneezed, bolting upright and shoving her braid out of her face, realizing that that was causing the irritating sensation. Unfortunately, her explosive sneeze woke up everybody else, and they all stared at her with confusion and some annoyance for having being woke up so suddenly (and loudly). "Well, rise and shine, Lazy Jane," Eneres sneered, trying to go with the flow, trying to ignore the small hint of anger tracing its way back to her braid. _I hate humans, _she thought absentmindedly, getting up.

Kiba and Tsume were already on their feet, while Hige was still half-asleep, and Toboe was struggling to get up.

"Ah, the sweet smell of pollution . . . and . . . something else . . ." she concluded, taking a whiff of the disgusting city air.

"Food?" asked Hige, now fully awake.

"No, I smell it too," said Kiba.

"Beautiful, isn't it," sighed Eneres, getting lost in a dream too lovely to comprehend.

"It's . . ." started Tsume.

"Flowers," finished Toboe.

"Not just any flowers," said Eneres.

"Lunar flowers," gasped Kiba. Each wolf looked at one another, great joy and disbelief on their faces (although Eneres' was somewhat of a smirk of triumph), and they began to run towards the smell, Eneres in the lead, for the smell hit her like a gigantic tidal wave of floral scent, urging and half-dragging her forward. They took a few turns down the alleyway they had slept, and when it came to a dead end, they merely ran up the wall and began jumping over buildings on the rooftops. Only once did they stop, when Toboe slipped and slid halfway off a roof, but Hige went back and caught him.

Eneres couldn't believe it; after so many years, so many disappointments, so many days where she could've just killed herself, she was finally going to reunite with her Cheza, and then go in search for Citegrene. The near thought of it made her heart and legs pump faster as she streaked ahead towards the source of Cheza's already overpowering smell. She could just see Cheza now; head thrust back in a silent scream as her sixth sense detected the presence of Eneres, and possibly the other wolves. But another thought dragged her down. Would Cheza be angry with Eneres for abandoning her? Eneres had, after all, completely failed at her duty and mission that Tor and Fenris had specifically assigned to her and her alone. And what about Citegrene? How would she react? Would she be angry at Eneres for failing and almost worse, hurting her, both mentally and physically?

_No,_ Eneres told herself firmly. _Citegrene loves me like a sister. And so does Cheza. Now all I have to worry about is how to get Cheza out of the clutches of whoever's got her . . ._

They ran for a few more hours until the buildings began to thin (they didn't know this, but they were in the largest city left on earth) and soon the wolves jumped off the roofs and ran on the lightly snow-covered ground. Eneres' body was beginning to tire, and even her new, stronger muscles began to tingle. She just sucked in more air and ran harder, her feet pounding on the grassless ground. Taking a chance and looking behind her, she saw that Kiba was about 20 yards back, with Tsume next in line, and Hige right behind him. Toboe was a mere dot in the distance; being such a young wolf he was not as strong as the others.

Hige must have noticed this, for he had held back a little bit. Tsume seemed a bit hesitant also, but Eneres couldn't have cared less for the young wolf. She needed to see Cheza again. Unexpectedly, the wind picked up to a strong gale fairly quickly, and soon Eneres found herself running straight into the wind, causing her sprint to turn into a very slow jog.

_No! Oh Tor, oh Fenris, are you banning me from seeing my Cheza?_ she thought desperately as she was forced to stop on her knees, the breath finally being knocked out of her. Small tears were beginning to form in her eyes, both from the wind and out of frustration.

"Are you all right?" Kiba yelled through the wind, though Eneres barely heard him. "Toboe needs rest, and we need to get out of this storm."

Sullenly, Eneres followed Kiba back until they reached a small, fallen, abandoned tower that they had passed on the way. They took refuge in it, Eneres' stubborn flame being taken away with the wind. Once inside, Toboe collapsed, panting heavily and Hige had to help him over to a place where he could rest against the wall. Eneres had the same desire: to collapse and rest, but her psyche was winning out her. Her thoughts were consumed by Cheza, and she was beginning to shake from the strain of it. She gazed out onto the now snow-blanketed landscape as the wind howled like some unseen wolf outside.

Kiba joined her. "You can't take it either?" he asked.

"Not in a million years," she whispered back. "Let's go," she said, looking at Kiba with a wild and crazy look in her green-golden eyes.

"But . . ." stuttered Kiba.

"You want to see Cheza . . . almost as much as I do. Let's go; otherwise I'm going all by myself."

"Kiba, what are you doing? You can't just leave us!" protested Hige.

Kiba took one look at Hige and the rest of the wolves, then looked at Eneres and nodded. Eneres's eyes gleamed triumphantly and she even let a small smile loose before she dove headfirst into the wind, Kiba following close behind. _He's so easy to manipulate! _thought Eneres as she let her brain move her legs as if on autopilot. _Why is this so?_

About halfway through struggling into the wind, Kiba must have been bursting with curiosity, having Eneres all alone, for he spoke. "Why are you so desperate to find Cheza?"

"It's a long story," she answered.

"It'll take us a while to reach Darcia's Keep," said Kiba, looking at the large, looming keep from where the scent of lunar flowers emanated.

Eneres's stomach panged and her heart fluttered as her eyes were filled with visions of what had happened that terrible night so long ago. She took a deep breath to try to calm herself, but to no avail as she began, "I was sworn by Tor and Fenris to protect Cheza."

"Who are Tor and Fenris?" asked Kiba.

"Who are Tor and Fenris!?" shouted Eneres, completely awestruck that this impertinent wolf had the nerve to ask her who the wolf gods were. "Why, they made you! They made me! They're the Gods of the heaven above! How could you ask such a question?"

"Gods? I've never heard of them," spat Kiba, a bit offended at Eneres's reply. "Besides, I don't believe in anything except Paradise."

Eneres snarled viciously at the mention of Paradise.

"And what do you have against Paradise anyways? Whenever it's mentioned you always growl or snarl," Kiba continued.

"Okay, one: how can you believe in just Paradise? How do you even know how Paradise is going to open? And two: you don't even understand the full story, you insolent pup," Eneres quarreled.

"Why won't you tell me the full story?"

"I . . ." And that's where Eneres stopped. She didn't know why she kept her past so hidden; it was bound to come out anyways. Maybe it was because it embarrassed her, or angered her. Maybe it was just because she was frightened. The terrifying prophecy that that old wolf had spoke to her and Citegrene so long ago had shaken Eneres up quite a bit. Eneres scornfully looked at her running foot paws and was silent.

"Why?" mumbled Kiba.

A single tear fell from Eneres's silvery face and was lost behind them as the wind caught it, carrying it far back.

"Why were you sworn to protect Cheza?" asked Kiba, and Eneres could tell that he wanted to know more. But she wasn't ready to bring forth those memories.

"Because I was, okay? Now just go the hell away!" she screamed at him, running ahead of him. He caught up quickly anyway, but was silent the rest of the time until they reached the place where Cheza's scent overflowed.

* * *

Citegrene woke to a bullet ricocheting right above her head. Instantly, she was on her feet and fully alert, her fur fluffed out and a growl playing on her lips. A muzzle of a monstrous rifle was pointing at her face. The man wielding it was short and grizzled, a hat atop his head and a a brown trench coat flowing from his shoulders as he sighted down the barrel, his hands trembling with rage.

Citegrene turned and fled as fast as her legs could carry her, hardly taking in her surroundings. There was a loud curse, then an ear-splitting boom as another bullet whizzed past her ear. Readying her haunches, the she-wolf sprang up onto the nearest rooftop and ducked behind the protective lip.

The man went into a cursing rage, firing shot after shot into thin air until his clip was empty. There was a clatter as he threw the weapon on the ground, then a few moments of silence before she heard the man pick it back up, grumbling. "Dammit, Blue, where are you when I need you most?" With a loud sigh, his footsteps trailed off into inaudibility.

Citegrene cautiously peeked over the ledge onto the street below. Natas stood there with a chunk of meat, his head sarcastically cocked to the side. Lightly, the she-wolf landed right next to him, not rustling a single hair out of place as he dropped the food on the dusty street, then said, "Dig in." Citegrene awkwardly ate, pain spiking up from her cheek, but her companion didn't follow suit. When she realized that, she looked up at him questioningly. "I've already eaten; don't worry about me." Giving into her stomach's demands, Citegrene snapped up the last of the meat, painfully licking her lips for every drop of the succulent juices.

"How's that wound coming?" He analyzed it, disgust and anger written all over his face. "That damn Rekoj . . ."

Citegrene looked at the sunless sky, cloudy with an impending snowstorm. Natas followed her gaze, then growled wonderingly, "It's strange, seeing the sky in a city like this. _Especially_ in a city like this. Normally they are domed to keep the weather out, but I think those Darcian nobles are cheap and didn't want to protect their civilians." He looked about, then spoke. "Now, where to?" Citegrene scented the air, then pointed in the right direction, following the sweet, overpowering floral smell of the Flower Maiden.

They traveled as humans, mostly with Natas leading. He took the form of a tall, lean man clothed in a heavy leather jacket and pants, and rather large steel-toed boots. Raven black hair fell to his shoulders, framing a square face with subtle impish features.

Citegrene wore a plain blue tee that complimented her blonde hair that fell to her hips. She appeared a normal human female, with no distinguishing or unparalleled beauteous characteristics. Well, except perhaps her eyes. Those piercing sapphire eyes.

Occasionally, Natas would for the direction of the flower scent to direct their course. After the umpteenth time, Citegrene burst out, "What, can't you scent Cheza _now_? It's overwhelming!!" He gave her an angry glare, then sulkily kept walking. Citegrene felt pangs of frustration start up in her. What wolf _couldn't_ smell the Flower Maiden!?

The day was long and tedious, made worse by the fact that Citegrene couldn't calculate the time since clouds covered the sun. It began to snow lightly, and the wind picked up tremendously. The wolves kept going in their pursuit of Cheza, but they spent more time in the shelter of the alleys. After endless gray streets and dull buildings, the monotony was finally broken when they turned onto a deserted roadway, lightly coated with fluffy snow. Citegrene had felt a strange fluttery feeling in her chest ever since waking up in the city, but now it was so all-powerful that it made her dash happily through the powder towards a large fortress in the distance. She was sure of it now; Cheza's scent was coming from there.

Natas strayed behind her, sniffing the ground determinedly. Citegrene looked around gleefully, the snow reminding her of her homeland in the high mountains. Oh, how she missed her family so . . .

A growl sounded right next to her, making her start. "Wolves have been here; two of them. A she-wolf and a young male." Citegrene lowered her head to the snow. Cheza's scent was clogging her nostrils, but she sniffed the ground nonetheless. There was something there . . . she inhaled deeply, opening her muzzle slightly.

There was no time to think; Citegrene just reacted as the euphoria overtook her. "ENERES!!!!" She bolted like a bullet, sprinting through the snow towards the giant keep on the horizon. Citegrene didn't even need to follow a scent trail; she knew that Eneres could detect Cheza's scent from just about anywhere, and that she would most definitely go directly to her; nothing would, or could, stand in her way from doing so.

The wind gusted into Citegrene's face, blasting little pellets of ice into her eyes and delicate nose. But this didn't lessen her pace at all. Instead, she sped up, her limbs working like giant pistons as she ran through the growing snowstorm, Natas at her side. Citegrene was going to find Eneres, after so many years of torturous separation. Nothing would, or could, stand in her way from doing so.

* * *

Eneres's heart beat uncontrollably as she pounded down a bleak corridor, the scent of Cheza getting stronger by the second. It was completely past overwhelming now. Kiba was right behind her, but she barely heard him as she leaped with great momentum up to another corridor ten feet off of the ground.

So close. She was so close. As she sprinted down the passageway toward a pair of double doors on the end, the lack of guards made her slightly uneasy. Then her outstandingly sharp ears picked up Cheza's whispered voice. "They are here."

Eneres almost howled with delight as she put on her final burst of speed, thanking Tor and Fenris over and over for everything: her nose, her ears, her muscles; her second chance.

"They are here," Cheza repeated softly. Eneres blew through the doors, tears cascading down her silver face, a snarl trying to counteract them to look menacing.

"Cheza!" yelled Kiba.

"Eneres," whispered Cheza. "This one has missed you terribly."

All was silent for a moment as surprise and happiness permeated the room. A shadow in the back moved slightly, but it was barely noticed as Cheza suddenly ran forward happily. "Kiba!" she exclaimed. Kiba opened his mouth in joy and bounded towards her.

Out of the darkness shot a figure, his face covered by a white mask and springy hair protruding from his head. Like lightning, he grabbed Cheza by the back of her neck, dragging her back and holding her up where she hung limply like a rag doll, screaming.

"Cheza!" Kiba shouted again.

The cloaked man stood still, analyzing the wolves as Cheza cried her piercing scream. Only his eyes were visible through the chalky mask, and his intelligent blue gaze swept over Kiba to land on a snarling Eneres. Slowly, he lifted his gloved free hand to grasp the covering object and removed it. It slipped through his fingers onto the floor with a clatter. His lips parted to speak when a pair of doors behind him exploded open.

"Goooood evening, ladies and gentle men. We are . . . tonight's entertainment."

"What the . . ." whispered Eneres as she saw a group of seven men and their eccentrically dressed leader enter, but then she had to focus on dodging bullets that were ricocheting everywhere. Hiding places in the large room were sparse, so Eneres had to suffice with taking out the goons by tooth and claw. Kiba followed her lead, but their attacks were easily equaled by their rifle-wielding opponents. It was utter chaos, the ping of bullets bouncing everywhere, the clattering of dropped guns, the snarls of enraged wolves. Soon, the six goons dropped their human guises, showing their true form: that of Balkar wolves, specially trained to kill.

It seemed like an eternity; blood coated the floor as Eneres spun around right and left to fight off her attackers, but six Balkar were almost too much for her. Almost in slow motion, she saw Kiba go down, biting hard on the leg of one. She couldn't find the strange leader that wore horrifying makeup, or the masked human that had sprang out of the shadows, or even Cheza for that matter. She desperately hoped that Cheza had been smart enough to do something about her captor. Eneres' vision blurred red as blood trickled in her eye, caused by the gash at the base of her ear splitting open further. She sensed a presence behind her, and spun around to attack viciously.

But she stopped. A large wolf stood before her, mirroring Eneres' shock on her face. Blood spiked the newcomer's fur, making her appear half red; maybe it was because of her own wounds, or maybe it was because of Eneres' blooded vision. But there was something different about this she-wolf that made Eneres's blood run cold, and her heart beat faster.

"C . . . C . . . C . . ." stuttered Eneres, barely getting the first syllable out of her mouth.

Joy spread across the golden-red wolf's features as she bolted at Eneres, running into her and knocking her over, rubbing and licking with affection.

"Eneres!" she cried ecstatically, and soon Eneres followed with the tears, emotions scattering in all directions. The she-wolf kept vigorously rubbing her furry face across the silver wolf's, as if her very life depended on it.

"Oh, Citegrene, you'll never believe it! I just met someone who looks exactly like you," mumbled Eneres, laughing at her own psychotic state.

"It's me, Eneres! Oh, it's been so long . . . I thought you were dead, but a part of me always knew that you survived . . ." Citegrene said softly, love filling her blue eyes.

Eneres snapped affectionately, realizing that this was, indeed, the real Citegrene, "It takes more than that to put me down; you know that, idiot!"

Time seemed to stand still for the two reunited wolves as the battle raged around them. Tears brimming in two sets of eyes, sapphire blue and piercing golden-green, they rubbed and nuzzled each other, feeling the love and companionship they had shared for so long before their tragic separation. Bullets were flying in all directions, magically missing the friends; screams of pain and agony echoed throughout the room, falling on deaf ears; the stench of blood hung heavily in the air, the silver and gold wolves not picking up on the scent as they tried to make up for all the lost years. They continued rubbing each other as the battle continued around them; Kiba and a newcomer, a savage black wolf, were still fighting like mad.

"Guess what!?" gasped Eneres suddenly. "I found Cheza!"

"Now who's the idiot?" laughed Citegrene as she gently cuffed Eneres over the ear.

"Awwwww, now isn't that just _sweet_?" sneered a voice from behind them.

Whirling, Citegrene snarled viciously, "YOU!" Eneres had never heard her that angry; she didn't know that Citegrene could get that angry, and it frightened her quite a bit.

The man chuckled darkly, and advanced towards Eneres, shotgun in hand. He was unlike anything she'd ever encountered before in her life. _Ever._ An uncustomary chill swept down her spine as she glared at his face, haphazardly painted chalk white, dull black circles ringing his eyes and knotted scars from the corners of his mouth accented by crimson lipstick.

The room had gone silent, the fighting mysteriously halted. The black wolf and Kiba were both pinned down by two Balkar each, and the rest were gathering in a loose semi-circle around Eneres and Citegrene. A look of pure horror spread across Eneres' face as the man cocked his head mockingly to the side, looked around the room, and exclaimed, "Why is everybody so quiet!? You know what happens when I can hear myself think!"

He nonchalantly raised the shotgun and aimed it at the silver wolf's head. She knew, with growing despair, the unfathomable horror of what would happen if she was to be injured any more than she already was. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as the man adjusted his gun, looking down the barrel with cunning, evil eyes, and smirked, "Farewell, beautiful. Unfortunatelee, our time together must be short. Normally, I don't enjoy using guns, but at least it'll be _quick_, don't you agree?"

His gloved finger squeezed the trigger. Eneres saw the bullet move towards her, but she was rooted to the spot. She sensed Citegrene tense up beside her, but only after the bloody she-wolf jumped in front of Eneres was when she went weak in the knees. The bullet embedded itself into Citegrene as she sailed in front of Eneres. Citegrene hit the floor with a disgusting crunch, landing on her side. Her prone body didn't even twitch.

"No!" Eneres screamed.

"Too bad she had to take the bullet for ya, but once again, my apologies. That was the only one I had." Eneres didn't hear him as she stared hypnotically at the golden wolf's body. She saw it stir slightly.

Rekoj gave the black wolf a strange glance, then silently backed out of one of the many doors, nodding to the Balkar. They nipped harshly at their captives, then fled after Rekoj. Eneres stared wide-eyed at the bloody mass that was Citegrene; the black wolf lay on the ground, staring blankly at the wall, making no attempt to move; Kiba forgo chasing after Rekoj, as well, in order to limp around the room, trying to relocate Cheza's scent.

There was several moments of complete silence, then Citegrene painfully raised her golden head. Eneres gasped in relief and rubbed her muzzle in the golden-wolf's fur.

Alarms blared all around the wolves. White smoke began to hiss out of the vents surrounding the room, slowly filling the bottom with a thick fog. Kiba abandoned his search for Cheza's scent and tentatively backed up towards Eneres, one paw at a time, snarling at the ethereal menace all the while. The black wolf struggled onto his feet and then yelled at Eneres. "We have to get out! I'll help you move Citegrene, just get out of here!!!" Eneres nodded, fighting the urge to close her eyes and lay down as lethargy flooded through her, compliments of the smoke. He helped Citegrene to her feet, and Eneres let her long lost friend lean on her, her legs barely supporting them both as they ran out of the keep on wobbly paws. It took an agonizingly long time, and the smoke had begun to seep into the adjacent hallways, filling them with a suffocating white mass.

And then the wolves breached the last doorway to the outside world. It looked like Tsume, Hige and Toboe had made it to the keep in the time that Eneres and Kiba spent in it. The Balkar wolves and Rekoj were nowhere in sight.

"Are you okay?" asked Tsume, getting strangely concerned.

"I'm fine," panted Eneres. Then her face grew full of shock once again. "Oh, no! Cheza! I forgot about her! She's still in there! Damn it!" And, without another moment to spare, Eneres spun around and bolted back into the keep.

"Wait!" came a voice behind her. Eneres halted, and turned around to find Citegrene limping to catch up. "I'll get Cheza."

"What? You're wounded, and . . . oh, I don't have time for this!" growled Eneres, turning towards the fortress.

"Eneres, stay here. I'll get her. Don't worry about me." Citegrene limped into the keep once again, Eneres screaming shouts and curses after her, only to be restrained by Tsume and the black wolf at the doorway. "I can't afford to lose you again," Citegrene added once Eneres was out of earshot.

"Citegrene!! COME BACK!" The golden wolf didn't look back once as she tried to navigate her way back to the room. Right; left; then right again. Now she could smell the misty smoke again, and it instantly made her lids heavy. _Stay awake, Citegrene. You need to get this done . . . for Eneres._

She turned a left, only to jam her muzzle into a human leg. Her haunches sank to the floor, and she stared up fearfully. A tall masked man stood before her, a wig of black hair protruding in all directions. Citegrene's gasp echoed throughout the hallway as he looked down on her. "Where's Cheza?" she breathed.

The man silently took a sidestep to the left, revealing Cheza's stooped form. Her head hung low, almost in shame, but she turned her sightless maroon eyes toward Citegrene. "She is safe with me," the man said in a low voice. With complete control, he lashed out with a booted foot, hitting Citegrene in her wounded leg. She crumpled to the floor, unconscious.


	12. Chapter 12: Separated

**Chapter 12**

Eneres paced back and forth at the entrance to the keep, her fur messy, her eyes wide and twitchy. She was in a craze, one of the biggest that Kiba or any of the others had ever seen her in. She forever paced, mumbling Citegrene's name in hysterical tones, her eyes large as china saucers. Eneres looked like she was having a nervous breakdown.

Nobody went up to comfort the she-wolf, for they were all a bit frightened, and had all agreed to let her meltdown take its course, hoping that Citegrene would return and end this madness. The only reason they watched her is because they weren't about to let her dive back in and try to save Citegrene, endangering herself and possibly the others who would've had to go in and get her.

"Is she going to be all right?" asked Kiba.

"Who knows," replied Hige. "So . . . who are you?" he asked, turning to the strange black wolf.

"No one you need to concern yourselves with," he said, seeming withdrawn and almost eager to get away. Hige eyed him, then turned back to watching Eneres, who had just gone into a frenzied laughing fit.

"Hello, Citegrene, have you caught the rabbit yet? I can't wait for the daisies to come up, they'll look so pretty next to Modnar," she shouted into the keep, ears pricked, seemingly waiting for an answer.

"Okay, I can't take this anymore," growled Tsume, walking forward to tell Eneres off. He walked up to her, hackles raised, but when he got to her, she merely smiled at him, dazed and confused, and Tsume seemed to have lost his bearings for a moment. "Hey, will you quit blubbering? I'm sure that . . . hey!" he shouted after her, for Eneres suddenly bolted, sprinting away from the baffled wolves before they even had a chance to register what she had done.

Kiba recovered first, running past Tsume and back into the keep, trying to cover his nose as much as possible.

Eneres spurted down the corridor, not caring where she ran, as long as her paws somehow got her to Citegrene. She realized that she had taken many wrong turns; her brain was quite messed up from her psyche, and from the gas that was seeping throughout the building.

"Citegrene? Citegrene! Damn it . . ." she called, looking frantically every which way she turned. Eneres finally made it to the same chamber that all the madness had begun, her eyelids drooping heavily, her crazed state beginning to quiet. A loud noise at the back of the room made her start, and she whipped around, following the noise that continued, getting quite loud, then beginning to get gradually softer. "No, no, no, no . . ." repeated Eneres over and over as she used one of her last energy reserves to dash around the back and out a large door that was flung wide open.

A large, sleek black airship lay hovering in the air about fifty feet above Eneres' head, a rope ladder hanging down from it. The masked figure stood in the open part of the airship as a few men were loading up a golden body, spiked with red. The body was not moving, and just as the door began to close was when Eneres' exhausted limbs decided to move towards the rope ladder. Hoping that her now-human muscles would be able to climb just as fast as she could run, she leaped up about 20 rungs to get a head start, placing hand after hand up the ladder, occasionally her feet slipping from the gas that she had breathed in. Eneres moved quickly, but still it seemed like an eternity as time slowed before her eyes yet once again. She was almost there; almost to the top where she would be able to take out the people inside and save Citegrene and Cheza.

Eneres got to the top, but without warning, the masked figure lashed out, kicking Eneres in the hand, sending her back a couple rungs. Then, even more unexpectedly, the masked figure pulled a sword out of his cloak, and Eneres watched on in pure terror as he took one swing at the rope ladder, severing it cleanly. Eneres screamed, one of the rare times she did, as she plummeted back towards the ground. The door to the airship closed, and Eneres' wish for life almost extinguished altogether. The wind whistled past her ears and she closed her eyes as the ground came closer, not even bracing for the impact. She landed with a crunch, pain shooting up her leg and from her stomach; her elbow had dug into her stomach when she landed.

"Eneres!" shouted Kiba, nose in arm as he came running towards her. That was the last thing Eneres saw before she blacked out.

Eneres woke up with a gasp, sitting up and clutching her stomach, only to gasp again and clutch her arm, which hurt terribly.

"Are you all right? Are you okay?" came the flurry of questions all around her as everybody asked her basically the same thing.

Eneres was silent, and everybody else fell silent also, seeing she did not want to answer. Except Toboe, of course.

"Are you okay? Does it hurt badly?" he asked.

"Yes," she whispered, meaning something far deeper than her physical injuries. "Yes, it does."

"Your leg is fractured, and you have a pretty bad bruise on your stomach," diagnosed Kiba. "You'll be out for about a week or so."

"A WEEK?!" exclaimed Eneres, jumping up, only to collapse again, roaring with pain.

"I'm guessing you shouldn't move your leg, or use your abdominal muscles too much," added Hige, looking at her concernedly. She gave him a scowl, but sat up, crawling over to the entrance to where they had stayed for the storm, which was their shelter now. It was there that she stayed and sulked for a few hours, nobody willing to test her temper for a while.

Everybody milled around the shelter for a while, and Tsume and the black wolf agreed to go out and try to scrounge up a few scraps to eat, hoping to kill some time. Eneres just stared at them as they went out with disgust, her bored, plaintive look never changing.

"Hi," mumbled Kiba, sitting alongside her once Tsume and the black wolf left, and Hige and Toboe fell asleep.

"Hi."

"So . . . your friend?"

"She's gone. And once this damn injury heals I'll set off at once to find Cheza," replied Eneres sarcastically. "Hopefully Cheza can help lead me to Citegrene."

"She was really brave going back in for Cheza, being wounded and all."

Eneres made no reply, swimming in the guilt that maybe if she had just pushed a little harder at her restrainers, she might have been able to stop Citegrene from going back in. This was the second time she had failed. It was heart-wrenching with the thought of what a disgrace she must seem to Tor and Fenris, who had trusted her with such a seemingly easy task.

"You are really brave; risking your life to protect her and Cheza."

Eneres looked at Kiba, slightly startled, and found that he was looking at her too; his eyes full of wonder . . . and something else. Eneres felt herself move forward as Kiba moved forward, too, and her eyes closed as she let her body do the rest. Their lips met, and Eneres saw fireworks in her eyelids as she felt sensations burst inside of her, the many different emotions just exploding. She wished she could just stay like this forever; Kiba's and her lips never parting, the sereneness and tranquility of it all. They finally separated after what seemed like hours and hours, looking into each other's eyes; ice blue and piercing golden-green. Sighing, and feeling slightly refreshed, yet completely worn out, Eneres scooted next to Kiba, putting her head on his shoulder and gazing out at the barren landscape, wishing that tomorrow would never come.

* * *

Tsume made his way back to the abandoned tower, a scrawny rabbit hanging from his mouth. The mysterious black wolf had parted from him once they had each spotted something to chase.

_How are we going to divide these wimpy little scraps of meat up? Should we give more to Toboe 'cause he's small, or should we give more to Eneres because she's wounded? _he thought confusedly, shaking his head and snarling at himself for his mention of Eneres. The silver she-wolf was all he seemed to think about these days, her name always popping into his head.

He saw the small tower about fifty yards away and began running towards it, almost wishing to run away from his thoughts. They all came crashing back into his head as he stopped dead, the rabbit falling from his mouth as he stared at Kiba and Eneres, at the entrance of the shelter, their lips together in a kiss.

_What the hell, Tsume. Why the hell do you care about what Eneres does with Kiba? You don't care . . . _he growled at himself. He didn't care, but then why were his insides burning with every passing moment?

* * *

"_I_ have Cheza."

_The burnt air stunk horribly as Citegrene sprang away from the evil grinning lupine into the darkness of the trees, leaving the helpless white wolf pup behind. She ran for what seemed an eternity, her legs pumping beneath her, pounding the soft forest floor, never stopping. All she wanted to do was die. The pain in her heart was unbearable, and though a small part of her knew that Eneres' death wasn't her fault, in a sick, twisted way, it felt good to blame herself. Guilt clouded her thoughts, and all happy memories vanished, only to be replaced by darkness and despair._

_And so, Citegrene ran, through forest and valley, desert and gorge; through day and night, rain and snow. Her guilt and anger coalesced into actions full of despair and self-hate. Animals fled from her for the dark killings she committed. Many times Citegrene lay awake at night, wondering what was the best way to end her life. For what was the point of living if life was just one giant death trap?_

_Over the months and years, as much as Citegrene wanted to with all her heart, she could not find the courage to kill herself. Somehow, whenever she saw a tempting gorge or raging river, she could not move herself towards it. As much as she wanted to stop the pain, she couldn't risk delving into the unknown. Something held her back, forcing her to remain alive in the world. It made her angry at her own weakness that she couldn't make this seemingly simple decision, but it was far more complicated than it had first appeared._

_One day, Citegrene stumbled upon a small human village being ransacked by wolves. Screams permeated the air as women and children ran around hysterically, while men vainly tried to grab pike and axe to defend themselves. Varg chased them down, lunging and ripping out their throats. Blood saturated the ground, and maimed bodies lay everywhere. Black as night, a wolf latched onto a young child, savaging it and shaking it vigorously in its jaw. His claws flashed, spilling entrails onto the red-stained ground as the child screamed, still alive. Citegrene couldn't keep watching the horror, yet she couldn't tear her gaze away from the devastation that nature's creations were capable of. The black wolf looked towards her with eyes the same shade as the blood dripping from his muzzle. In one leap, he was on top of Citegrene, ripping into her as the bloodlust clouded his gaze._

_"Yes!" she cried, crazily. "Yes, kill me! KILL ME!"_

_The black wolf lunged for her throat._

_

* * *

  
_

"Well, well, well . . . It seems that the wolfie is awake at last." Citegrene groaned, feeling a wave of guilt wash over her, threatening to take over once again. Dreams came to her more and more often now, and she found it difficult to completely wake from them.

In the dim light, the horrifying clown stood before her, a slight smile at the corner of his mouth. Well, there always was a smile on the corner of his mouth. _Corners_ would be more accurate.

Rekoj initiated what Citegrene could tell would be one of the worst days of her life as he opened his mouth to speak. "You talk in your sleep; do you know that? Something about . . ." He coughed, straightened up, and then said in a horribly high voice, mocking Citegrene's accent, "Kill me! Please kill me!" His tongued darted out, leaving a wet film over his red lips. Deeply now, he growled, "Well, it is very well possible that your wish will be fulfilled today . . ."

Citegrene cringed, tensing up her muscles only to find that she wasn't bound in any way. She tested her limbs, and was equally surprised that no poison was clogging her veins, although she did feel a slight choke around her neck. Subtly, she readied herself for a quick escape while nervously eying the strange apparatuses that hung around her.

Knives of every size and blade style imaginable stood on dark metal shelves, lining the opposite side of the bleak room that was her cell. Thick chains hung from random points in the walls and ceiling, and razor blades lay on a counter behind Rekoj, gleaming from a recent wash.

Rekoj leaned on a rusted metal door, the only chance at freedom Citegrene had. He was lovingly fondling the blade in his hands, the very one marred by the she-wolf's blood. His gaze pierced it with some sadistic question as it glinted in the half-light, then his dark orbs landed on the she-wolf.

"So . . . Citegrene, Citegrene, Citegrene." Rekoj shook his head in disappointment. Curly green locks flared out into the air briefly before he stopped to speak once more. " . . . Can I call you Citty?" Her lip curled, showing off white fangs. That was the name Eneres had dubbed her with when they were pups. Only _she_ was allowed to call her Citty.

"No? Citty it is, then."

Rekoj started pacing, casually stalking back and forth, but pointedly staying by the door. His pinstriped pants rustled as he walked; a gloved finger was placed on his lip as if thinking. Citegrene waited tensely, fear pounding in her heart. Though she felt like the smallest noise would cause her to start, she had to act like she wasn't afraid. Rekoj _wanted_ her to show fear, and she wouldn't give it to him. She knew well enough how freaks like him worked.

Finally, Rekoj stopped, swiveled on his booted heel, and spoke in a conversational tone. "Well, Citty, I'm in a predicament. And I've been in it for a looooooong time." As he extended the "o" vowel, his voice dropped to a gravelly growl. "This Darcia character; well, he tries my patience. You see, after my many _many _years of hard work trying to track down Cheza, this _noble_ comes and thinks he can do a better job than me_._" Rekoj pointed at himself in mock disbelief. "_Me!_" His cackle echoed around the cramped room and echoed into Citegrene's twitching ears.

"But then . . . I stumbled across something . . ." A red tongue darted out to lick his equally red lips as Rekoj slowly turned towards Citegrene, eyes glinting. "I stumbled across you, Citty. And there was just something about you that I found _fascinating_. Your . . . _hatred_ of the world; your _unfeeling_ little heart; your . . . carelessness for yourself. You _killed_ your best friend, and now . . . _now,_ you've left her to die . . . _again._ Along with her ragtag pack and your little black traitor friend."

Guilt and anger prickled Citegrene's fur and made her body quake. Rekoj had a golden tongue, and he knew exactly how to use it. Already, Citegrene was being sucked into the influential vortex that was the reality he weaved out of lies. Everything was silent when she realized that the clown was staring hungrily at her.

He spoke in a deep tone. _"Now_, you've changed things . . . forever. There's no going back. See, to them . . . you're just a freak." He threw up his arms suddenly and laughed. "Like _me_!"

"I am _NOTHING_ like you!!" Citegrene roared, her voice cracking with anger as she lunged towards the clown's throat. Instantly, her eyes rolled into her head, and agony wracked her body with unimaginable pain. Her muscles felt like they were a raging inferno as electricity passed through them, causing them to jitter and shake uncontrollably. There was a thud as she fell back to the floor, the she-wolf furiously yelping in pain, high-pitched squeals that resounded around the room.

Rekoj tutted, uncurling his gloved fist to show the miniscule remote within. Then he sighed greatly. "You really need to work on that temper. After all, do I not recall, _'One of pure soul, heart and mind, shall open up the gates of fate?'_" Citegrene's heart hammered against her chest as the pain slowly abated. How much of the Prophecy did her enemy know? Despite her muscles' protests, Citegrene staggered onto her feet and snarled with all of her might at the clown.

"Ooooo, you are just _too_ much fun! It doesn't matter, for what matters now is whether or not you are willing to make sacrifices to save others." Rekoj's tone dropped low and serious. "Will you have the courage to do what's right? Or will you give in to the real choice: the choice of selfishness . . ."

Slowly, he slid one arm, and then the other out of his purple jacket and threw it in a corner, straightening the emerald vest that lay underneath. There was a pop as he cracked his neck, then his gaze slowly slid onto the she-wolf's. Those eyes; they pierced right to Citegrene's soul. It was as if he had the ability to bring up all past deeds that she had thought were buried, as if he could lay them bare for the entire world to see. Guilt instantly welled up in her, making her forget everything accept for the past. All she wanted to do was to make it go away; make the memories disappear.

The green-haired man causally sauntered over to Citegrene, grabbed a handful of her fur to pin her against the wall. She gave in without a struggle, for Citegrene was lost now, lost in the memories of all her transgressions. Rekoj raised the knife to the cheek that was still intact. "Shall we even out that scar for ya?"

The cold metal pressed into the wolf's mouth, sending warning spikes of pain to her brain but not yet cutting through the flesh.

"Hmmm . . . we'll wait with that. Here's the choice," he breathed into her ear, the hot air caressing her face. She struggled slightly, but his grip was like iron. "Either you decide to be at my side . . . or else I'll make the choice for you." His eyes flicked to the ceiling briefly, then rested on Citegrene thoughtfully. "No . . . better yet, either you make the choice to be at my side, or I will _carve_ your little silver friend . . . so that we all will be _matching_." His tongue pressed against the knotted blemish on his cheek, showing it off to Citegrene.

She snapped out of the guilty sea in her mind, anger boiling in her blood. She whispered menacingly, "If it's the Prophecy's promise you are after, then you will not receive it. And you will never, _never,_ talk about Eneres again, or I will rip out your throat, _mutt._" She spat. "I swear it." Rekoj raised his eyebrows and leered.

"Ahhhhhhhh, so despite everything you've been through, you still have chosen to save yourself over everyone else. Well done. For the only sensible way to live in this world is without rules, and you certainly don't have any qualms about that, do you?" He transferred the weapon from Citegrene's cheek to her neck. She coughed, glaring.

"You're crazy."

Slight irritation sparked in his dark orbs. "No . . . no . . . I'm _not_. I'm just . . . ahead of the curve."

A searching howl rose up, far in the distance. Rekoj rolled his eyes impatiently. "So, what's it going to be? Hmm?" The golden wolf snarled, then punched her leg out with as much force as she could muster. Rekoj released his death grip on her and doubled over, but instead of yelling in pain, he cackled harder than ever. Citegrene saw her chance at freedom and dashed past the psychotic clown towards the exit as fast as she could. She never made it as her muscles exploded into flames of pain and she skidded across the concrete floor with the force of her collapse. Slowly, deliberately, Rekoj straightened up, grinning with an intent that made Citegrene's skin crawl.

"I figured that we could have a little time to . . . get to know each other. Wouldn't that be grand, Citty?" The she-wolf growled her answer. Rekoj smirked, a gleeful twinkle in his dark orbs. "I had concocted this treatment for your silver wolfie friend, but seeing as how she's being taken care of already, I figured I could afford to try it out . . ." He swiped a razor blade from the sink counter, then advanced towards Citty. " . . . on you."

"Go to hell, clown! Tor and Fenris will prevent this from happening." The words just came out of her mouth. Citegrene was shocked at herself, she hadn't intended to say that at all.

Rekoj halted, then stared at the ceiling in mock disbelief, his mouth open in a silent "o" as if waiting for a bolt from the heavens to smite him. Nothing happened. His intense gaze returned to Citegrene, a smile slowly creeping over his features. "I do believe that _Tor_ and _Fenris_ are the ones who put me up to this."

"Bull."

"Believe what you will. I'm sure your mind will be changed when the day is done" Rekoj ungracefully leaped for Citegrene, grabbing hold of her collar. Almost all fight had been sucked out of her by the random shocks she had been receiving, but all of a sudden, the she-wolf had a cunning idea. She could do anything while Rekoj was holding on, for if he decided to press that button, she wasn't the only one that would feel the heat.

Snapping and snarling, the great golden she-wolf fought with all of her strength. Rekoj's laughs could be heard over her defiant utterances as he yelled, "Calm down, Citty! This won't hurt one bit . . ."

All sound stopped from Citegrene as, instead of an electric current, she felt the first clean cut on her skin. "What the hell are you doing to me?!! Get off!!!!" She squirmed maniacally, trying to release his grip from her. Each individual slice was a hot burn on her skin; the immense stinging pain overpowered her brain.

She could feel his raunchy breath on her neck. "You see . . . I do what I want . . . when I want it. Now, what's your choice? Stand by my side . . ."

"No . . . I won't do it!"

"C'mon . . . you really don't want to hurt the ones you love, do you?" His hand dropped the razor and trailed down her back. Serenity fell over Citegrene as he petted her. It felt so good. That made her so furious. "Natas . . ." Citegrene felt a small pang of guilt, but pushed it aside.

"Cheza . . ." Worry overwhelmed her now. Cheza was vital to open Paradise, as was . . .

"_Eneres._" Citegrene stiffened. She heard Rekoj inhale, then his low growl spoke into her ear, "I will teach you all I know; I will teach you how to _hate_ again. And then you won't be able to resist the dark side. You won't be able to resist me."

_Why does he frickin' care about having me at his side?_

The room went dark.

Above the exit, a red emergency light flashed into life. Rekoj's face was bathed in a bloody hue as he stared hungrily towards the ceiling, then released Citegrene and suddenly skipped towards the door. He reached for the knob, then nonchalantly veered to pick up his purple overcoat that was crumpled in a corner. Gingerly, he slipped his arms into it, then opened the door and stalked through. "Oh, Eeeeenaaaaaaaaaaaaarehhhhhhhhhhhhhssssssssssssss . . ."

Citegrene struggled onto her feet and leaped angrily towards the tail of his coat, but deliberately fell short so that she wouldn't bash her muzzle in as the huge metal door slammed shut. Electric pain took over her being again, and she could hear Rekoj's laughs fade away as she slumped to the floor, whimpering, waiting for the current to lessen. _What have I sentenced Eneres to? What's going on?_

She recalled something Rekoj had said earlier. _Is Rekoj just bluffing, or has Natas really betrayed me? _The golden wolf laid her great head on her outstretched paws. _Well, I always suspected it, so perhaps it _is_ true._

Citegrene's side hurt like a wound from hell, but she didn't dare look at it. _If Rekoj is going to torture me, why doesn't he get it over with?_

But it didn't matter anymore. Nothing mattered anymore except staying on her feet in Rekoj's little game. There was once a time when she would have given anything to die, but now Citegrene was selling out her best friends, the ones who were destined to open up Paradise. She had now sold them out so that she wouldn't have to suffer more pain at Rekoj's side.

But, wouldn't she suffer pain anyways? Wasn't the past few minutes proof enough? Rekoj would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. But . . . what did he _really_ want? That was the million dollar question.

_"Power, who will redefine the laws of nature, as her mate." _Citegrene wished the Prophecy had never been made._ Why can't everyone just forget that stupid verse of the frickin' Prophecy and just go on with their own damn lives!? Woooo, it has the word "power" in it; that means that it is oh so important. _Citegrene snarled to herself, then stared blankly at the wall._ Screw it. Screw this stupid journey if it's going to cause Eneres more harm. I bet Paradise doesn't even exist at all. Tor and Fenris are nothing but myths. There is nothing in the world but death and despair . . . maybe Rekoj was right . . . If you can't beat him, join him._


	13. Chapter 13: Time

**Chapter 13**

_"Mommy, what's that smell?"_

_Her mother's fur stood on end, and it frightened Eneres, for she had never seen her mother do that before._

_"Come, darling, stay close to me and the others," Remoth whispered, herding her three month old pups together as she led them to the middle of a rough circle made by the now-aggressive pack males._

_"What's going on?" whimpered Yngrina, Eneres's sister. Eneres merely stared like a scared fawn at Yngrina, and huddled closer to her, feeling the warmth of her fur against hers: it was slightly comforting._

_"Who's that out there?" squealed Etah, her brother, and he tried to jump in front of his mother, trying to act like one of the protective males._

_"Etah, come back!" Remoth gasped as her pup playfully dashed out towards the circle of Draggas. Etah pranced along, only to be repelled with a yelp as one of the stronger males thrust him backwards._

_"Stay out of here, runt!" he snarled, and Remoth quickly gathered him up and placed him back with Eneres and Yngrina._

_Eneres looked at the horizon, the small dot in the distance getting larger. It was a she-wolf, scrawny, with a white pelt that looked like it was spiked with blood, but maybe that was just its natural color. She looked weighted (and exhausted), for in her mouth there was a small, golden-colored pup, about the age of Eneres. Eneres could see her ribs; she had obviously been trying to feed the pup as best she could without starving herself._

_The silver pup looked on in awe and bewilderment as the stranger walked closer, dropped the pup right in front of Eneres' pack leader, then dropped to the ground herself and did not move. Dnik sniffed the pup ungratefully as it struggled to get up in the light snow that covering the ground. The small thing gazed her deep sapphire eyes up into his, and Eneres heard her mother's sharp intake of breath. Dnik lifted the pup from the snow by its scruff, and Eneres prepared herself for a horrifying yelp and the scent of blood, but it did not come. He came over and set the pup down by Remoth, who immediately sniffed the pup over to check for malnourishment, then cuddled her close so that she was surrounded by warm fur. Yngrina became jealous and clambered over her mother to try and suckle, but Remoth snapped at her, letting the half-starved pup have her fill._

_Two males helped get the pup's mother to her paws and into a small crevice that was used as the nursery. Dnik ordered half the pack to go out and hunt for the dying mother while he interrogated her, and the rest of the wolves returned to normal while the hunters were gone._

"_Eneres," whispered Remoth once the noise of the suckling pup stopped. "Look at your new friend."_

_Eneres struggled to get on top of her mother's fluffy coat, her paws beginning to become numb from the snow; this was the longest playtime that any of the pups had ever had. The newcomer was almost the exact opposite of herself. Radiant golden fur adorned this chubby pup, and her fur was quite thick; Eneres decided that she was from this 'North' that her parents would always discuss._

"_Lemme see!" cried Etah, shoving Eneres away._

"_Hush, Etah, she is asleep," scolded Remoth._

_Etah gazed at her curiously. "I don't see what's so special."_

"_She will be your new playmate," Remoth soothed, nuzzling the pup gently. "It will be fun."_

"_Yeah, funner than Yngrina, that's for sure," he smirked. Yngrina gave Etah a reproachful look._

"_Eneres, you haven't told us what you think of her," smiled Remoth at her silver daughter._

"_I think she's nice," mumbled Eneres. She did not know this pup, so how could she know what to think? "What do you think of her, mommy?"_

"_I think she is very special," Remoth replied, gazing at Eneres with pure love. "I think she is very special indeed."_

_

* * *

  
_

Eneres softly opened her eyes; the dream had been a pleasurable yet sorrowful one. She tried to stand up, but fell back to the ground, fighting a yelp that was sure to wake everyone else up. She just wanted to be alone for now. After taking some time to try to stand up without using her bruised abdomen or her broken arm, Eneres meandered her way to the entrance of the fallen tower, which was where they had all slept for the night. It was now lightly snowing, small flakes fluttering to the ground then disappearing into a greater pile of their siblings.

_Siblings . . . _thought Eneres wistfully. Oh how she missed her sister, Yngrina, and her brother, Etah. They were just distant memories now, forever pushed away by more important matters. Eneres realized that she hadn't thought about her family for more than two years . . . so why did they come back now? Something was changing in Eneres' mind, but she couldn't quite place her paws on it. Sure, she'd had her crazy spells before, but this was different. Maybe she actually was getting closer to Paradise, or the spot it was to be opened, rather. She found it strange that she and Citegrene didn't have it hardwired into them where they were supposed to go to open it, and yet, they were supposed to know when it came upon them. Was this that feeling?

Eneres was pulled out of her reminiscence by something she had not noticed before. The odd black wolf, apparently having woken up before Eneres, was sitting about 20 yards in front of her, still as a statue. Curious as to what he was doing out in the snow, Eneres sauntered her way out by his side, her face becoming more and more surprised as she saw that he was just staring: staring out into the snow, his mouth often twitching and his throat rumbling, as if he was speaking words to some unseen figure.

"What the hell are you doing!?" yelled Eneres, figuring that she had seen enough.

He jumped, snapping out of his trance, then, becoming outraged at this interruption, turned towards Eneres with hate in his eyes. "What the hell does it look like I'm doing?!"

Eneres bristled. "Well, what the hell is that?"

"How the hell should I know?" He was obviously hiding something, and Eneres narrowed her eyes, staring at him with such intensity that his fur began to bristle. They glared at each other for the longest moment, then the mysterious black wolf looked away and trotted into the snow.

"Hey!" Eneres called after him. "Where are you going?"

He did not answer, only pulled into a run, his ears forward with anger. Eneres snorted with pride and disgust, glad that this stranger was finally gone. He could have seriously hurt her, for she was wounded, and he was not. He could have, if he wanted to. If he wanted to . . . but he seemed so angry, why did he not want to? If looks could kill, Eneres would have been thrust into fiery pits of hell. Looks . . . what _was_ he staring at. Something was out there, Eneres decided, and she was not going to stick around to find out.

She trotted back to the tower as best she could with her broken arm, groaning when she saw that Tsume and Kiba were up now.

"Where were you?" asked Kiba.

"Out," Eneres mumbled, a bit more irritated than she meant it to sound. Kiba gave her a small scowl.

"Where's our little mysterious friend?" smirked Tsume.

"Gone."  
"Can you say anything other than one-word sentences?"

"Go to hell."

Tsume's lips pulled back in a snarl, but he was silenced by the glare he got from Kiba. "She doesn't want to talk," he mouthed.

And that's how it was for three months.

_

* * *

  
_

Citegrene shook her head in frustration. There was only one thing left to do. She staggered onto her feet, ignoring the bullet wound in her leg and the pain from her gashed side. Slowly, she stood up, defying her muscles protests to collapse. _Well, it's worth a try,_ she thought as she exhaled, reached out, and grasped the door handle.

Much to her surprise, it opened with a click, creaking forward as Citegrene slipped through, looking every which way. Three hallways lay before her in a T cross-section in which Cheza's scent was overpowering. Citegrene projected her human self just in case there were guards, then limped straight down the hall in front of her, following her nose.

"Lord Darcia, your presence is required on the bridge," a sweet voice echoed around. Citegrene froze, taking in her surroundings, and then continued walking along the hallway. After a time, she stopped in front of a door where Cheza's scent couldn't possibly get any stronger. Instead of a low-security doorknob, this entrance had a keypad. Citegrene bent over and sniffed around it in anxiety, looking for another way to open it. Suddenly, she saw the door swing open.

Citegrene straightened up slowly and glanced towards the doorway, smiling nervously. In a flash, she was pinned against the wall, legs dangling in thin air. Intelligent blue eyes peered at her through the mask inches from her face.

"We meet again, wolf."

"_Darcia._" _How can he see right through my disguise?_

His eyes flashed to the side of her imaginary t-shirt, soaked with blood. The blonde-haired girl whispered, "You have an intruder on your ship. He's a threat to everyone; even Cheza."

Darcia's eyes flitted back to lock onto hers. "Yes, I am aware of Rekoj's disposition. Agreeably, he's taking his . . . assignment . . . too far, though he is undoubtedly the best to take over the job."

Citegrene gave him a "what the hell?" look, then froze fearfully, feeling a slight pulse from the shock collar. Was Darcia in league with Rekoj?

"But enough talk. I'm not one to reveal the grand plan in front of my victims, especially if their death isn't guaranteed." He released Citegrene, and her feet touched ground again. "Come," he beckoned her through the doorway with gloved hands.

As Citegrene cautiously walked through the entrance, she couldn't help but think of how much Darcia reminded her of Rekoj, the only differences being that Darcia was sane enough to hold an intelligent conversation with and that Darcia (hopefully) didn't paint his face with crayons.

Cheza's scent was driving Citegrene insane by the time she was seated on a couch in the middle of the room, apparently one for luxury. There were many shelves with random trinkets, and a window was set into the wall, giving a nice view of clouds. Nowhere could Citegrene find any trace of the Flower Maiden, but there was a promising door on the opposite side of the room. There had to be a way to get to it without being caught.

Darcia sat down gracefully on the couch across from Citegrene, a circular shag rug separating the two sofas. He amiably crossed his legs, then leaned over and pressed a button on the wall behind him, speaking softly into it, "I assume my presence isn't _required_ on the bridge, Neeze. State your message, then I will need a couple minutes alone."

"Yes, Lord Darcia. We have now achieved lowest flight altitude, as you commanded," came the sweet voice again. Darcia released the button, then turned his gaze back to Citegrene.

"Much lies ahead of you, wolf. Be prepared for horrible things to happen. This time, it will be much harder. I assure you."

She clenched her fists into the leather sofa. "What do you mean, _this_ time?"

He just stared at her, eyes twinkling with unknown knowledge. "Everything rests on you and your friend's shoulders. There can be no mistakes. No mishaps. You only have so long before Rekoj completes his assignment."

"What are you saying? You think that you and Rekoj have the _job_ of killing me? Who told you to do this? And you still didn't answer what you mean by _this_ time? Who the hell are you?!"

"Calm, wolf. I am saying all that I am allowed to. This _job_ is not shared by Rekoj and I; it is his alone. I was told this by the ones who chose to reveal this knowledge to me. _This_ time is answered by the Prophecy. And I am Lord Darcia the Third, come to give you a head start. You should appreciate this little talk we are having."

Citegrene jumped onto her feet. "Head start on WHAT?! I don't believe in any of this fake crap of a Prophecy, and I _certainly_ don't believe that you are giving me any sort of advantage at all! Just let me live my life the way _I_ want to!" She took a menacing step towards Darcia, her human image flickering with anger.

"Very well." His voice was smooth, his eyes twinkling.

Citegrene inhaled sharply as the world dropped from beneath her feet. The room went by in a blur of color as the shag rug opened up to the air below, replaced by gray clouds swirling around in her vision. The cold wind blasted through her thick fur as she free-fell the 30 feet between airship and earth, twisting and turning as she was buffeted. Suddenly, the choppy lake below hit her like a block of concrete, flowing up over her head as the icy cold shocked her system.

* * *

_"Citty, you first!" Eneres smiled playfully, her short tail wagging._

_A chubby gold-pelted pup waddled to the lake's edge, peering into the water. "Oh, I don't know, Nerry. It's too cold today." The wind was howling through the trees nearby, blowing their fur around in the frigid air._

_"No, it's fine! See!" Eneres dipped her dainty paw in, then withdrew it, spraying droplets everywhere. "I can do it, so you can too! C'mon, Etah said we would be human pups if we didn't do it! We have to show him that we aren't scared of _anything_!"_

_Citegrene sighed, then crouched slowly, shaking her haunches in preparation._

_"C'mon, Citty! The faster you do it, the faster we can go tell Etah to shove it where the sun don't shine."_

_Citegrene smiled halfheartedly, inhaled, then leaped. There was a small plop as her body entered the freezing water, and Eneres looked anxiously over the edge of the bank._

_Instantly, a current tugged at Citegrene's thick fur, pulling her down to the depths. The pup struggled, yelling in the water as her large paws churned helplessly, the frigid water seeping through her skin. Her limbs became unbearably heavy with cold, her eyelids drooping. But her lungs remained aflame with the burning lack of oxygen, piercing through the cold's numbing affect. It wasn't enough. Citegrene finally gave up struggling, and slowly she sank to the river bottom, the pressure squeezing on her tiny body._

_Garbled sounds reached waterlogged ears: an motherly voice yelling with anger and worry; a timid pup's voice, frightened and full of fear; a young male's voice, inquisitive and curious. Then there was a large splash, and the water swirled around Citegrene. None of it clicked in her brain. The water, it was just too cold. It was just too tempting to let it all go and just . . . go to . . . sleep. Citegrene's eyes closed, a single name of "Eneres" on her lips as a strong grip grasped her scruff to pull her from the waves._

_

* * *

  
_

Citegrene surfaced, gulping down air as wave after wave crashed over her head like a brick. She floundered, looking every which way to get her bearings. There! Land! She forced her weary limbs to move her forward through the water, despite its attempts to take her to the depths. _This_ time, she wasn't going to give in.

After an eternity, Citegrene made landfall. Her forelimbs struggled to drag her body out of the surf, and she collapsed onto the ground, breathing hard. Everything was so cold. But somewhere in her mind she knew that it was fatal to just lie there, soaked as she was. Somewhere in her memory, she recalled moving towards the nearby forest, coated in snow; she remembered a hollow tree trunk, safe from the wind and warm inside; she remembered the uneasy sleep that took her, washing over her like the tides.

When she woke, it was to the perpetual snowstorm that had plagued the land for the last several days. Prey was scarce, but she managed to find enough to support her meager existence. The once radiant golden wolf fell into periodical bouts of depression and anxiety, sometimes swearing up and down that Eneres was there in the forest with her, watching over Cheza. She sometimes heard the maniacal laughter of Rekoj, or the sarcastic voice of Natas, the traitor, though she was still in the dark about how he had betrayed her.

The full moon came and went, healing her wounds up with its rays until they were just more scars on her pelt. The impossible relations between who was working with who, who was stabbing who in the back, what was going on all swirled in her mind, driving her mad. The Prophecy kept coming back, and little echoes of a time before this never-ending winter slowly drove Citegrene into the dark pits of insanity. Tor and Fenris didn't exist. There was no escaping it. There was no escaping the darkness.

And that's how it was for three months.


	14. Chapter 14: You Had a Bad Day

**Chapter 14**

"So . . . you came. That's more than I expected," a silky voice purred.

There was a snarl from the shadows. "I don't intend to live down to your expectations."

High, maniacal laughter sounded. "I see why you two get along so nicely. Now, about the silver."

"What about her?"

"Did you fulfill your duty or not?" Each word was punctuated with the inflection of a mother speaking to her young child.

"She is taken care of."

"Goooooooood. But where is the golden one?"

There was silence, then, "Her mind is too far away for me to reach." Something clicked, followed by an audible exhalation of breath as a large body fell to ground.

"What now? I did what you asked of me!" The voice sounded weak as it struggled to breathe through apparent pain.

"You liar. Tell me what you truly see. Where is the golden one?"

"She . . ." the voice huffed, trying to catch its breath. Slowly, its breathing died away into silence. "She's in the forest by Harja," it said. Its voice was deeper now.

"Hmmm . . . It travels through your veins faster than ever nowadays. This new stuff works rather well," the voice laughed. "Well, I see that Citty is the one variable that is doing what we want her to. Kudos to her. What do you say you go relieve her of her loneliness and . . . escort her to her next location of need?"

There was nary a sound as the second voice growled an unfathomably bass utterance, "With pleasure."

Eneres actually smiled as she picked herself up from the tower floor, its warmth radiating up from where her body had lain. This was the day! Her arm was completely healed, although it was still sore since she had used it so much the day before. The large bruise on her stomach had yet to go away, but she could easily block out the pain from the spot.

"Come on, lazy asses," she screeched at the top of her lungs, feeling reenergized. Kiba and Tsume sprang to attention, each with 'what's wrong?' looks on their faces, while Hige and Toboe merely woke up, looking grumpier than ever. "It's a beautiful morning; shall we go for a stroll?"

"What?" said Hige, confused by Eneres' joyful mood.

"Which one of you . . . er . . . gentlewolves will be willing to escort a pretty lady out into the cold, cruel world to search for the elusive Cheza?" she questioned in a rather damsel-in-distress manner, fluttering her eyelashes over her golden eyes at the utterly baffled group.

"Eneres are you all right?" asked Toboe, taking a small step towards her.

Eneres' good mood was broken, and she groaned, cursed, and spun around, taking off out the tower entrance, slowing her pace just a tad to wait for everybody to catch up. She had no clue why she was actually letting them catch up; perhaps it was because she almost didn't know how to function on her own anymore. Maybe it was because she was never alone. She had never been alone in her life. When she was a pup she had her siblings, Yngrina and Etah, and her loving mother, and then Citegrene came along and became her adopted sibling; they were rarely ever seen without each other. Even when Eneres' siblings had all passed their lives, she had still had Citegrene, and then Cheza had been granted to her. When Cheza was taken away, Eneres was whisked away to Myu's land, and still, she had not been alone. And now here she was again with Kiba, Tsume, Hige, and Toboe. Even without Citegrene, Eneres' mind didn't completely lose itself. It was just knowing that there would always be someone there, she supposed, that kept her from crazily jumping over the edge. How strange her mind worked.

"So where are we headed to?" asked Kiba, whose stride now matched Eneres'. He had gotten much friendlier and more forgiving towards Eneres' mood swings and sharp retorts since they had shared their kiss.

Eneres took a sniff of the air, but cringed and almost stopped altogether as her stomach pained again. "I can't get a good whiff. It's the damn bruise, but I think I caught a southern scent."

"Of Cheza or Citegrene?"

"I'm not a magician here," she snapped.

"So Cheza, then," he concluded, not at all offended, which sent steam metaphorically whistling out of Eneres' ears, but she decided to humor him and held back her insult as he slowly drifted closer to her. His white fur was barely brushing against her silvery sheen, making her shiver, though not from the cold. It was actually quite nice having someone running next to her, although it wasn't the same as Citegrene, who usually ran at the same proximity. It felt different, too. Perhaps it was because Kiba was a male, and usually males only involved the prophecy.

_How much of the prophecy does he know, I wonder?_ thought Eneres, narrowing her eyes a tad. Many of the males they had run into had just thought and/or wanted to be part of the prophecy, therefore forcing themselves into the pair's lives. It was not a comforting situation to be in.

The pain in Eneres' stomach returned as she thought of her sister, Yngrina, and her traitorous mate, Reyatreb, the handsome dark brown wolf with the smug expression and the humongous footpaws. Eneres could feel the agonizing flashback creep up on her, daring her to let it come forth and make her lose concentration and trip. And that's what she did.

_"Well, well, well, sweet-one, how about we go for a stroll?" sneered Reyatreb, gesturing with his head to the wide open canyon._

_"I don't think so. Besides, Yngrina is looking for you, and you know how protective of you she is," Eneres scowled back._

_"Ah, forget about Yngrina. She'll be just fine by herself." His smoldering eyes scorched Eneres right to her very core as she struggled to keep her narrow face calm and unrelenting._

_"No?" he continued, walking towards Eneres, his huge paws making the gravel crunch. Soon he was right beside her, staring into her piercing golden-green eyes, nudging against her, throwing his weight unevenly, making her sidestep. She was being herded. Like prey. But she couldn't resist being caught; caught in those burning topaz eyes, falling into his gaze. "Soon, you will be mine, and Paradise will be opened," he whispered into her ear menacingly._

_And that was it._

_"No! You bastard! How much do you know!?" she screamed at him, but that's not what sprung the tears into her eyes._

_There was Yngrina, standing near the edge of a cliff with her tail straight out, her ears forward in shock and anger. A similar expression as Eneres' was upon her face for a moment, before it turned into a mask of pure hatred._

_"YOU!?" she screamed, hesitating for a second as to what to do next. Eneres guessed that her sister was deciding to leap onto her, which would have pulled forth a fight against her own sibling. "Why must you always . . . always STEAL from me!?"_

_"Yngrina, what are you talking about?" gasped Eneres. She sensed tragedy creeping up behind her, ready to stab her in the back. The pain in her sister's eyes was enough to rip her heart apart._

_"You've stolen the respect I deserve, the duty I deserve, and even mother's love! Even my own mother's love I deserved and I have never felt it! And now you steal my mate," Yngrina cried furiously, her last sentence barely above a whisper._

_"Yngrina, I . . . " stammered Eneres. She was only a year old, she had never thought of such things before. Why was her own sister suddenly turning against her?_

_"And now I do not deserve you," whispered Yngrina. Somehow, her speaking it softly, that voice dripping in untold amounts of hate and pain that had been bottled up for so long, was so much more worse than if Yngrina had yelled it._

_With that, Yngrina threw her head backwards to the sky, lifting her front paws up in a rear. At first, Eneres had no clue what she was doing. She was just going to hit the ground on her back . . . what was the point of that? But Yngrina's back never touched the ground. Over the edge she went, into the warm summer air. She fell . . . and fell . . . and fell. There was nothing that could be done. And then Eneres saw of her no more._

Eneres choked and gasped out at the unbearable pain that wracked her body, and her footpaws got tangled in one another. She tripped, sprawling across the snow, creating a large pile when she finally stopped.

"Whoa, are you okay?" asked Hige as the wolves all gathered around her.

Kiba looked at her concernedly, and cocked his head; Eneres' heart almost melted as she looked into his eyes, for they looked just like Yngrina's.

"I think I need a break," she croaked.

"What the hell are they doing?" she whispered through narrowed blue eyes. This was all too strange for her right now; both the silver and white one's expressions, his of something like love, hers something of horror. This was _all_ too strange . . . even the scar-faced one who paid her and somewhat forced her to do this job.

Ah, but she must pay attention to her tracking. Her prey was getting away.


	15. Chapter 15: A Voice and a Figure

**Chapter 15**

The vague whispering of trees floated through the night air on faerie wings, flitting to and fro across the tiny pocket of bare-leafed forest. Full in the sky, the moon glowed down, washing everything in a bleach-blue tint and weaving an eerie, empty feel into the air.

Amidst the dead tree trunks, there was no undergrowth; no place for small animals to hide from the cold, still air that permeated everything. The forest was a barren wasteland.

Within an old, hollowed out tree rested a wolf. Her ragged, yellow figure was nestled in a pile of humus and dead leaves, paws in the air and mouth hanging open. There was hardly any room for her, visible by her back legs vertical up against the trunk wall and her head squished into a rotten corner. Occasionally, she whimpered and twitched in a dream.

And then, Citegrene came to life. She woke as she always did, with a simple snap into consciousness, followed by the slight relief to escape from the nightmares that dominated her REM cycles. But the emotions lingered even while she was awake. It was impossible to escape the black pit that consumed her every time she laid her head to rest.

A breeze ghosted through the trees nearby, the murmur of gently swishing branches reaching the she-wolf's rounded ears. With a mental barricade blocking all thoughts, she automatically got up from the leaf litter and shook her shaggy pelt.

Outside, the intensely cold air created swirls of frost as Citegrene breathed. She raised her muzzle to the moon and howled out in agony. The horrible, gut-wrenching emotions were lessened when she howled so, as if she gave a small piece of her pain to the winking stars above. Its pitch rose and fell in undulations, ending on a sad note that resonated through her being. She gazed up, almost wishing for a response to her cry.

The crispness of the night made the stars stand out brightly in contrast with the black space wrapped around them. Twinkling, they showed nothing to indicate that they had heard Citegrene's desperate howl. They made her feel so small and insignificant. So alone.

Robotically, the she-wolf stiffly padded through the white-washed forest, noticing how everything dead looked so wonderful under the moon. Citegrene quickly stifled that thought. She couldn't allow herself to think.

When she breached the treeline, she couldn't help but marvel at the glossy black lake before her, adorned by shifting mirrors of luminosity on the wave crests. Light kept reflecting off of the caps as they tossed and turned gently in a breeze, each ray of white winking in and out of existence as the waves calmly tumbled over one another.

Slowly, careful to suppress all thought, Citegrene padded across the white sands to the lake's edge. She bent to lap expressionlessly at the water, ignoring the tingling in her paws as the waves frisked about them, ignoring the cold wind ruffling through her fur, ignoring her brain's attempt to breach the No-Thinking rule.

When her thirst was slaked, the she-wolf sat back on her haunches, briefly admiring the sparkle of water clinging to her feet before she snuffed out the thought. Her dull gaze swept once again over the dark, bleak horizons all around her, broken only by the lake, the small wood behind her, and the light snowfall now coming down.

_Citegrene . . ._

Whispered, the call startled her onto her feet, anger flashing through her veins.

"What!?" Citegrene barked sharply, her voice cracking from little use. "What do you want!?"

As soon as the words left her muzzle, the bitter wind picked up speed, blasting icy shards into Citegrene's narrowed eyes. They crinkled in agitation as a growl ripped from her throat in surprise. Far off in the distance was a dark figure, moving towards the lake. _Her_ lake. _Her_ woods. _Her_ territory.

_Why can't you come? I really want you there with me_. The tenor voice resonated around Citegrene's skull, smooth in its pleading.

A hysterical laugh ripped from the she-wolf's muzzle, all the while her gaze trained on the approaching shape. Now she was hearing voices, and responding to them, too. That definitely breached the No-Thinking rule.

_Why, Citegrene? Why can't you come?_

Her lipped curled as she watched the figure getting closer. Soon it would be close enough to act. Should she slip back into the forest unseen? Or should she stay on the bank and defend her territory?

_Why . . . can't . . . you . . . come . . ._ Each word fell deeper in pitch.

"Get out of my head, you mangy, dirt-eating coward."

_Citegrene . . . that's not a good enough answer._

"Then what is? This?" Citegrene swore through her long list of expletives that she had prepared for a moment like this.

_That's quite a collection of words you have there, honey. Almost enough to rival mine._

Citegrene's body shivered with anger. "_Don't_ call me honey, you reckless, artistically obsolete excuse for a mutt! I don't belong to you! LEAVE ME ALONE!!!" She screamed the last sentence to the approaching shape as well, her fury boiling over.

The figure's course didn't alter as it steadily advanced towards the lake, the sound of cracking snow coming into hearing as it approached. Citegrene inhaled sharply, then roared in one breath, "StaybackI'mwarningyouifyoucomeanycloserI'llripyourthroatout!!"

The crunching snow stopped. Citegrene blinked an annoying flake out of her eye, straining to see who stood in the darkness of the distance.

_Citegreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeene . . ._ The voice was a deep, menacing growl now, unforgiving in its threatening lure.

The she-wolf snarled viciously in response. Who did this clown think he was? Normally, his voice was a relief, a break from the monotony as he rattled on in a one-way conversation. But not today. She had responded to the voice for the first time. What a mistake. It had responded by annoying the hell out of her.

Citegrene peered into the darkness, her anger mixed with confusion and curiosity. The shape wavered slightly in her vision, a dark mist that couldn't be focused on. It started forward again, its weight crushing through the hard snow.

Citegrene's hackles bristled as she all but screamed, "Stay back! No one is allowed on _MY_ territory!"

The steady crunching continued.

"_I WILL FRICKIN' KILL YOU IF YOU SO MUCH AS PUT ONE MORE FOOT FORWARD!!"_

Silence fell.

Someone laughed. It was a dark, horrifying laugh that echoed inside Citegrene's skull, never having been spoken audibly. She locked her gaze on the figure, her once-bristling fur flat, her ears pulled back in fear, and her legs shaking violently.

_Oh, come on now, honey. You don't need to be afraid . . ._

"What did you do, Rekoj? Get out of my head!"

_Oohhhh, so it's just your _head_ that you are worried about . . . I see that we'll have to change that._

Suddenly, the she-wolf's legs buckled, seemingly of their own accord, and the snow rushed up to meet her face. "Dammit," she breathed into the ground.

Anger left her as swiftly as it had come. She lay there for a few minutes, tensed for the unknown. After several minutes of nothing but snow melting in her fur, she collected her derailed thoughts and wobbled to her feet. The first sight that met her eyes was the unbroken horizon. There was no black shape. That wasn't possible. She would have heard whatever it was leave.

_Citegrene . . ._

She snorted, shaking her head in an attempt to rid it of the utterance. The very whisper of it sent chills down her spine, and memories flashing through her head. Horrible, horrible memories that she didn't want to have to think about. Memories of a burning flame, a best friend, and a Flower Maiden.

_Citegrene . . ._

"Gawd dammit, GO AWAY!" Citegrene whirled and pelted headlong into the forest. The trees rushed past in a blur, her mind wishing that she ran into one while her body instinctively swerved away. There was no ambiance that accompanied a normal forest, only the hard sound of her footfalls as she flew through the pocket of woods and into the surrounding wastelands of drifting snow.

Citegrene instantly skidded to a halt, huffing out crystal clouds. She had never gone beyond the borders of the forest, only on the lake side. She had never had reason to until now. Whatever the voice was, it was linked to the forest, for she had never heard it before she had arrived at this Tor-forsaken place.

With a quick backwards glance, the she-wolf launched herself into the desert of white. Instantly, her paws cracked through the thin layer of hardened top snow and she sank in up to her chest. It seemed like there was more snow on the ground these days, no matter where Citegrene was.

Sighing in annoyance, she picked her back feet up and plunged them through as well, struggling to keep moving forward as her already-toppled mental barrier crumbled into minute particles of dust.

"Eneres," Citegrene called into the night. "Come here, Eneres! I have something to tell you! Ah, there you are. How old are they? Is it their second year now? My my, how time passes - oh, Eneres, wait! Come back!" There was nothing but swirling snow and wind to answer her.

Citegrene trudged on, lost in her own pool of insanity as she held aimless conversations with the frigid air, talking about everything from how much humans smelt to the nutritional value of a cockroach.

When she finally fell, dark gray clouds had completely blanketed the sky. Citegrene lay crumpled from dehydration on the top layer of snow, her eyelids drooping with exhaustion.

After a while, Citegrene could numbly feel something hard underneath the snow on which she lay. Her body ached from lying on it for so long, and she shifted her weight slightly. Her lethargic gaze slid across the stone block in front of her, not registering it. Her vision trailed upwards, taking in the massive gray flight of steps that reached towards the heavens. Barely visible in her sight was a regal stone statue of a wolf suckling two human infants atop the landing.

Citegrene sighed, utterly exhausted. Her gaze dropped once more to the ground. She blurredly saw the white landscape before her, looking like burnt silver in the darklight, an endless sea of nothingness in which the blizzard winds whipped about.

Slowly, her parched lips moved to form words, words that she had tried to forget once.

"When the world is burnt and dying; when there's no refuge to be found . . ." She breathed heavily, then whispered, "From past sins and . . . fatal lying, then great evil . . . shall . . . abound . . ." Her voice trailed off.

What was the point of life? There was no meaning if it was all one long path in which she just kept walking and walking, going nowhere. And now she would die in the frigid wilderness as the world collapsed in upon itself. Wolfbane's Winter, it was called in the old stories, stories of how Paradise would be opened when the moon was blood red.

But how could there be a Paradise at all if she had tried so hard, yet failed? Surely, because she had given it her all, she would have found it. That's the way things were supposed to work.

The she-wolf grievously wished that Eneres was with her now. Her whole life, she had lived with her adopted sister at her side, until that one day when the forest went up in flames, and Citegrene's life along with it.

Where had Cheza gone to? She wondered where Darcia had stolen her away to, never to be found, along with his little pupil, Rekoj. No doubt teaching him the art of genocide and Tor knows what else.

And what of Natas? Would she ever be able to die peacefully, with the strange feelings she had first felt for him, yet denied, untainted by thoughts of his rumored betrayal? Is that why she kept walking down the path of life, searching for an answer? Was it all for something as changing as love, as fleeting as a Paradise?


	16. Chapter 16: Cashew

**Chapter 16**

"Kiba, are you awake?" muttered Eneres quietly.

"Yes," he replied softly. The makeshift snow-den that they had created glittered blue around them, sending soft sparkles onto the silver and white wolves' fur.

Eneres huffed out a breath of steam, watching it swirl before her nose and up towards her eyes, and she was comforted slightly by the warmth, even though it already was quite warm inside the den. The wind was howling outside, making it impossible for Eneres to sleep, and she envied Hige and Toboe greatly as they snored peacefully, laying on top of each other lazily. Even Tsume seemed at peace, but she could not rest. If she did, she was sure to open that memory drawer that was getting harder to close, and the tears would flow and that agonizing pain would once again return to her grief-stricken, exhausted body. It was almost too much to bear these days.

Hige snorted in his sleep, and Eneres suddenly felt claustrophobic, as the snow-den barely harbored all five wolves.

_Couldn't we have made this damn thing any bigger?_ she thought gruffly, slightly rolling her eyes. She half considered getting up and scraping out the den entrance, which was also their breathing hole, to make it larger, but she felt too comfortable situated next to Kiba, her side pressed up against his to help create and maintain body heat. Just the thought of actually using her muscles to get up and put her paws in the frozen snow made her shiver.

She felt Kiba press next to her a little harder, as if he thought she was still cold.

"Are you cold?" he asked seconds later.

"No, just . . ." she trailed off, unable to explain what she had been thinking. She felt his strong neck muscles lift as he gently placed his head on hers, as if to comfort her, which she needed desperately.

Everything in her personality struggled and screamed at her to withdraw, but something new inside her kept her head there, and she listened to his breathing and his pulse as the minutes ticked by.

She was beginning to become bored, but had no intention whatsoever of moving, and had no desire to close her weary eyes and fall into blackness, so she began to hum a lullaby that her mother had sung to her and Citegrene when they were just little pups. All the words appeared mentally in her head, and the melody vibrated in her throat as she went through the one-verse song.

_You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are gray . . ._

Eneres remembered that she had been jealous of that song, because Citegrene's fur was golden, like the sun, and Eneres hadn't liked that the song was only about sunshine, so she had made her mother change it once in a while to 'moonshine' so that Eneres wouldn't feel so left out.

_You'll never know, dear, how much I love you . . ._

Memories of Yngrina threatened to overpower her, as she remembered Yngrina's last words to Eneres before she threw herself over the cliff; it had taken years for Eneres to fully accept her sister's death, and even longer to force herself to exclude that terrible memory from her existence, because since that petrifying moment, Eneres had come to realized that her mother had favored her and Citegrene over Eneres' own siblings. Did Remoth know that there was something special about Citegrene and Eneres? If so, how? Was there something that Remoth didn't tell Eneres or Citegrene before she died?

A small trickle of Remoth's death flowed through the wall blocking Eneres' memories from flooding her mind, and Eneres shuddered even more, and she half-sensed Kiba tighten up beside her in apprehensiveness. He knew how touchy Eneres was these days. Some times Eneres would burst into a random fit of tears, and some days she would be angry as a hornet that had gotten a rock thrown at its hive. Some days she would sulk for hours in a corner, and others she would feel nothing at all.

But no one should have had to die the way that Remoth did. It was too cruel to even speak about. And now that it had been thought about absentmindedly, the trickle was becoming a stream, and the stream became . . . Eneres fixed up the crack in the wall, heaving a big sigh and picking up where her tune had apparently faltered when the memory tried to force itself forward.

_So please don't take my sunshine away,_ she finished resolutely, her sorrow wallowing up again as she thought of sunshine and how it connected to Citegrene. How it connected to everything she held dear. Everything she had loved had been whisked away . . . no, not whisked, more like picked away from her, like the squirrel gnawing at the outside of a walnut shell. One by one, everything had been taken away from her, leaving the raw nut inside.

_Nut_, she told herself, in a dry humor fashion. _That is what I've been reduced to: a nut. _

She minutely shook her head, a wry smile appearing upon her face.

"What were you thinking about?" asked Kiba, his ears now pricked forward after listening to Eneres hum her lullaby.

The wall threatened to break open again, and a lump formed in Eneres' throat, so she was unable to answer.

Kiba sensed that, and he took his head off of hers, making Eneres immediately grow cold on the spot where it had rested; she wished that she wouldn't be so tongue-tied around him, especially when he asked such questions that could be answered with a butt-out answer like 'Something' or 'Nothing' or 'None of your business!'. He stared at her sympathetically, and asked her another question, trying to take her mind off of it.

"What was that song you were singing?"

"Just a lullaby that my mother used to sing to me and Citegrene when we were pups," she answered, staring out the entrance.

"I like it, it's pretty," he mused, and then he mumbled something unintelligible that Eneres barely picked up.

"What did you say?"

"Oh, it was nothing," he answered, trying to disguise the ashamedness in his voice. If wolves could blush, Kiba would have been flushed a deep scarlet. Eneres eyed him suspiciously, but scooted next to him a little closer, telling him that she was all right.

Toboe shifted uncomfortably behind them, making Hige grunt, but they made no signs of waking.

"How come you can't sleep?" Kiba asked, trying vainly to make conversation.

"Just a lot on my mind, I guess," she replied, nestling her nose in his fur and curling her tail behind him. "How come _you_ aren't asleep? Your pals seem to be having a jolly good time in Dream World. They're hibernating like bears."

"I don't know, I don't feel sleepy, I guess," he replied, and she could feel him tense up as he fought to stifle a yawn that would give him away. She smiled in his fur, and huffed out a small laugh, closing her eyes in delight as his scent whirled around her nose.

"You don't have to stay up for me, I'm just fine by myself," she whispered.

He nudged his nose in her ear, a smile playing around his lips also. "Too many times I've woken up to listen to you whimper and cry in your sleep. When I can trust you to go to sleep and not cry I'll go to sleep, too."

Her smile faded as she remembered the many times she'd had to cry into his fur to make the pain subside. "Big girls don't cry," she said softly, mostly to herself.

He chuckled and licked the inside of her ear, making her tingle inside. She thought she should return the favor, so almost reluctantly took her nose out of his fur and gazed up into his confused eyes, for he thought she hadn't liked his affectionate lick. A smirk appeared on her face, and she reached up and kissed him. She struggled to keep it affectionate, not passionate, keeping her emotions in check as best she could, for she knew that they would rage later because she would eventually have to fall asleep.

He kissed her back, but it was she who had to pull away first, and delightedness radiated from them both.

"What was that for?" he asked amusedly.

She nudged him playfully, sinking her nose back into his fur and smiling contentedly.

"So how long do you think it will take to find Cheza?" asked Kiba after a while.

"Once my bruise goes away and the storm lets up we will be plowing on faster than full speed ahead, captain," she breathed. "I can even smell her now; it's very, very faint, but it's there, nonetheless."

"Even with your nose squished into my fur?" he laughed.

"Yes, smart ass," she replied.

"How come you can smell Cheza from such long distances?" he questioned her.

"It's a gift from Tor and Fenris," she sighed, and remembered that she hadn't thought about the wolf gods for quite a long time.

"You never finished telling me about them," Kiba said, gently nudging Eneres' head out of his fur so that he could look into her eyes to search for a reason.

"What more is there to tell?" Eneres responded irritably. "Once Paradise is opened, you can see them for yourself."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because they told me themselves."

"You met Tor and Fenris?" It wasn't really a question, it was more of a scornfully-said statement.

"Yes, yes I did, and so did Citegrene. They were the ones who granted us Cheza," snarled Eneres, her eyebrows furrowing together in a scowl. "She is the true Flower Maiden."

"But how do you know?"

"Because of the pr –" Eneres stopped short when she realized that she had been about to spill one of the gravest secrets that she had needed to keep. She sat up in spite of herself, curling her arms around her knees. "Because they told me so."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"No, what were you saying before?" Now Kiba had sat up alongside Eneres and was glaring at her curiously.

"About what?" She was completely disgusted at the sorry attempts she was making to try and evade her mistake.

". . . Nothing," he concluded, lying back down. Eneres looked at him for one long moment, then laid back down also, this time with her back to him. Her body was barely touching his now, and it wasn't long before she was shivering again. Her fur wasn't nearly as long as Citegrene's, for Citegrene had come from the far northern tundra, and Eneres had been from more of a southern pack. It wasn't long after she started shivering that Kiba was next to her again, holding her close; soon her shivering stopped.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, his whisper tickling her ear. She didn't respond, but curled tighter next to him, hoping that this action would make up for an 'it's ok.'

She fell asleep to him softly humming her favorite lullaby.

How much longer did that annoying song have to last!? Tsume had heard Kiba and Eneres go on about mushy gushy boring talk for what seemed like an eternity now, and things had finally started to get juicy and tense when Eneres had sat up and they had begun an argument. But now it was over, and Kiba had started humming that completely retarded tune, probably to get Eneres to sleep, no doubt. Why even bother? She was just going to have more nightmares anyway. It seemed like an endless circle; Eneres would fall asleep, then have nightmares, only to have Kiba there to comfort her, then he would make her go to sleep and the process would begin all over again. Tsume didn't see the point.

But, oh, how he wished that he was the one curled next to Eneres rather than that softy Kiba . . .

She was getting closer . . . so, so much closer . . .


	17. Chapter 17: Playing God

**Chapter 17**

Consciousnesses whispered and swirled around bleakly in the black abyss that was his mind. Well . . . not _his_ mind . . . at least not from the start. But it was now. The black wolf licked his lips in satisfaction, feeling the caged sentience in the corner of what was now _his_ mind start to squirm at the thoughts. He laughed at its pitiful attempts to free itself, and then humored himself by squeezing it into submission. Though he left it alive, due to his _orders_, he enjoyed causing enough harm that would leave the intelligence right on the brink of death.

All of the other consciousnesses that his mind touched were mere fodder. Each was an obsolete being, busy worrying about the simple matters of food or sheltering from the blizzard, busy keeping their mates and families of pitiful mewling infants from hungry predators. As the tiny creatures fell under the shadow of his demonic wrath, each mental link faded into the oblivion from whence it came. Pride flooded their executioner as he trotted majestically through the snowy plain, undisturbed, a dark blotch in the great white drifts, his muzzle stained with blood from the killings.

Snow whipped around in little pillars of white, flurrying about in random twisting paths. It was a beautiful earthly storm, but not near as beautiful as back home. Irritation spiked in the black wolf as he thought of his predicament, but he blocked the emotion and focused his attention on the task ahead. Even as dawn broke on the snow desert and the air steadily became more frigid, he kept the same pace, an eternal, effortless trot across the plain. The sun slowly crawled to its zenith, then gradually fell back below the horizon. It was then that his mind touched hers.

He slowed to a walk, mentally probing the creature that had come to his attention. It _was_ her. The wolf shot his consciousness outward like an arrow, reaching far beyond where he stood to report his findings. His black haunches sank into the snow and his crimson eyes focused on a distant image as he felt the distinct mental connection snap into place.

"I have found her, but her life seeps away, even this very moment." The wolf bent to sniff the ground as he spoke to the wind, glancing at the many dark shapes on the white horizon. His lips pulled back in a smile.

"There are Balkar here."

In the distance loomed the great castle of Harja. It's massive stone structure, eroded and cracked with age, was a beacon on this deserted waste of a planet. The black wolf snorted as he watched the patterns the swirling snow made about its heights. No doubt that the Balkar resided somewhere nearby their beloved _monument_.

Rekoj's voice echoed in his head, "Well, that moves things right along. Let them take her, but make sure you follow. We need to see how she'll react." Anger flashed through the black wolf, and his lip now curled in a snarl.

"I _know_ how she'll react. Don't forget, Rekoj, that our secret weapon will be put into play soon enough. And besides, I could easily kill them all. There are only ten."

"Well, I'm not much of a schemer myself, but we need the Balkar for later. _Do not_ harm them."

The black wolf stood up and paced back and forth in fury. His muscles rippled beneath his ebony pelt like some giant cat as he fluidly moved back and forth across the snow, creating a large trodden path in the drift. Then, he cloaked his image from the minds of the approaching Balkar and watched as they woke the she-wolf from her fatal slumber.

". . . Very well."

This was no ordinary nightmare of a memory. This was something far worse.

_It was black. Pitch black. And so cold. How could it be so cold?_

_Citegrene cowered in the darkness, fear creeping through her veins. It made her furious to be brought so low, but it didn't matter. All that mattered now was escaping this black pit of hell._

_What's that? A sound? Citegrene swung her muzzle to the left, drawing herself into a tight ball as she stared fearfully into the black. A whimper escaped from her clenched teeth, and she quickly cut off the sound. Something was drawing closer to her._

_Citegrene could feel soil beneath her now. It just . . . came into being below her very paws. Startling, but not nearly as startling as what was stalking towards her now._

_There was no light, yet it was illuminated. None of this nightmare made any sense! And the fear that consumed Citegrene seemed so _real.

_Gleaming yellow teeth flashed in a malignant leer. Coarse brown paws eagerly stalked forward, sometimes leaving the ground in irregular leaps of joy. A pink tongue lolled, saliva sliding down its length and plopping onto the dusty black earth. From the corners of an open muzzle stretched knotted blemishes, layered thick with scar tissue, accentuated with crimson._

_"Hee hee ho hah heh hee ha!" It was _his _demented laugh that rang around Citegrene's world of blackness. It was _him _closing the gap that existed between her and this nightmare. Citegrene could feel her limbs shaking as Rekoj neared. Unexpected sweat droplets dewed on her fur and rolled into her eyes._

_The wolf was now mere feet from her, but yet she stood stock still. There was something different about his eyes. Oh no . . . they were black orbs rimmed with a thin corona of crimson. They were not _his _eyes . . . They were the eyes of a demon._

_His ragged muzzle parted and began to move as if speaking, but no sound reached Citegrene's ears. She slowly sidled backwards to escape, but confusion now tempered the terror. What, was she going deaf?_

_Rekoj kept speaking, his body language showing that he was growing increasingly more amused. And then, when Citegrene could tell he was reaching the climax of his announcement, he stopped. She stared up at him with wide eyes, watching as his eyebrows sunk lower and lower and his grin became a threatening snarl. Fangs flashed as he barked, but Citegrene remained deaf to sound. She slowly backed up into the blackness around her._

_Rekoj's face went blank. The air suddenly crackled with energy. Citegrene could sense something rear its great within the wolf that stood before her, a power so mighty that she couldn't comprehend it. Her whole body quaked in fear as his crimson orbs flashed, and then she felt herself fall to the ground, limp._

_A shadow fell over her thoughts. The she-wolf knew that she wasn't alone. It was a blackness more impenetrable even than the darkness that surrounded her. It cloaked her mind, prodding around with no intention of being gentle. Citegrene caught glimpses of flames and unbearable pain as it sifted through her memories, and started to cry out._

_Then, everything disappeared in a great flash of white. The presence in her mind fled. Citegrene stood alone in a beautiful_ _white-frosted forest, alongside a radiant white wolf. Citegrene gaped at her, unable to voice her overwhelming gratitude and confusion. Either having not seen Citegrene's mental state or simply overlooking it, Larka nodded once. The dream was then torn from Citegrene's mind._

"Be gentle, Pmiw! You don't want to hurt her!" Citegrene's body bucked slightly, then the wolves beneath her continued onwards with a smooth gait. She knew she was being borne to some place where innumerable tortures might lie in wait for her, but she didn't care at all. It could have been Rekoj himself, which was most certainly worse than death, but that didn't give her pause. All Citegrene wanted to do was sleep.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Yako. It's just . . ." the voice dropped to a whisper, "she's so _heavy_. Why did everyone else have to leave just to go scouting? Who on this earth needs eight Varg to scout for one mile?" With a great rustling of fur, there was a second adjustment of Citegrene, then the smooth crunch of paws on snow became audible once more.

"They were going to dig out the passage to the valley. You know that as well as I, so be quiet."

Pmiw's voice piped up again. "This wolf looks like she's been wallowing in the sewers for a while . . . how did she survive out here for so long with so much," he shifted the golden wolf's body to a better position, "weight?"

"How am I to know, you whining mutt? Just shut your trap and keep moving."

That crossed the line. "What did you just call me?" Though his voice cracked in fear, it had a long-held yearning to defend itself. Citegrene felt her limp form stop moving. _Great . . ._

"You heard me, deaf ears. Shut the hell up."

"And what if I don't?" Growls suddenly erupted from all around, resonating through the cold air as Citegrene was dropped to the ground. She grunted upon impact, but the sound was lost in the din of angry snarling.

"Well, Pmiw? If it's the leadership you want, all you have to do is slit her helpless throat." Silence fell. Citegrene cracked open her eyes to see the two angry males, fur huffed out and facing each other with fury etched into their features. Neither noticed her awakening. Her vision blurredly focused on the hind paw within reach of her mouth.

_Helpless? Helpless!? I'll show them _helpless_! _Without further thought, she lunged forward and latched her teeth into the sinewy flesh. Blood squirted into her parched mouth. It tasted good.

"AHH!!! Get her off!!!" The male started to flick his leg in attempts to dislodge Citegrene's grip, causing his short tan fur to tickle her nose. She growled and bit down harder, resisting the urge to sneeze.

"Ha ha ha! It looks like you won't be succeeding _her_ for a while!"

"Dammit! Help me, you bastard!!"

The other male laughed even harder, his sides heaving for breath as he fell to the ground in a heaping mass of howls. Citegrene squeezed her jaws tighter, then released her victim. The young wolf instantly sprang away with a yelp, his mouth gaping, his bushy tail tucked between his legs and his ears flat in fear.

Citegrene weakly staggered onto her feet, a deep growl emanating from her chest. Her dirty fur was spiked in all directions and frosted with ice, making her visage seem all the more ghastly.

"Where am I?" she grunted.

"Uhhhh . . . uhhhh . . ." The tan wolf shook with fear, sinking to the ground and rolling to show his white belly fur in submission. Citegrene growled with pleasure at his groveling. She had already bested one of the males; now it was the other's turn.

"Right next to the Balkar valley, ma'am." The speaker's gray fur was scarred with age, but his muscles still looked strong. Citegrene sized him up. Just another sweet talking Varg that was trying to placate her wrath. Well, _that_ wouldn't work.

"Where that?"

"Why . . . right next to Harja, where we found you. You were almost dead."

Citegrene snorted. "Should have left me. Want to die."

"Well, _we_ don't want you to die. The Balkar need you."

A vicious snarl escaped from Citegrene's open mouth. "Why everyone need me? Can't everyone live own damn lives without needing _ME!?_"

The other wolf smiled amusedly, shifting his weight from paw to paw as he thoughtfully looked at the she-wolf. He obviously underestimated her anger. Citegrene couldn't take the mutt's insolence anymore.

It was over quickly. Yako's body lay at her feet in mere seconds, his neck punctured with fang marks. The freshly spilled blood still dripped from Citegrene's muzzle. It tasted so good. She slowly looked over at Pmiw, the bloodlust flaring in her eyes. The pathetic male was cowering near a snowbank, his thin legs quivering in fear and his eyes wide in horror. He couldn't have been more than a pup. Citegrene pulled back her lips, her crimson fangs flashing.

Pmiw yelped and sprinted off. The she-wolf quickly followed, kicking up snow as she scrambled after him and pushed off from the ground with a tremendous leap. Her jaws crunched down on the male's neck as she landed on his back, and he buckled underneath her weight. They both tumbled into a snowbank with a flurry of white, and Citegrene stood to shake her prey back and forth by the scruff. When his neck had been broken in at least three places, she flung the body away from her. _Disgusting, filthy mutt._

_Citegrene . . . don't be so quick to kill. They could have been useful._

Citegrene thought back viciously, _What's wrong with killing!? Besides, I don't see _you_ out here dealing with these dogs. You think that you are all that, sitting back there and _trying_ to play god. _Citegrene spat into the snow. It was a red globule of blood from her fresh kills.

_Good point, beautiful . . . but yet, remember who you are working for._

_What, you think I'm working for _you_!? NEVER! Get that through your thick skull, clown!_

_Keep thinking that, honey._

Citegrene began to stagger through the snow, fury in her veins. She felt like a pawn; the voice kept whispering in her mind, and there was nothing she could do about it. And, unfortunately, he knew that, too. Citegrene was past the point of resisting; it wasted too much energy. Now, all she could do was focus on something other than Rekoj's sadistic thoughts.

The snow was deep and Citegrene continually sank in up to her chest, but that made her all the more furious in her attempts to cross the snowy plains. Pain and hate raged within her. Citegrene hated the world and all its cruelties; Citegrene hated the mere stray thought of Paradise, or Tor and Fenris; Citegrene loathed Rekoj so much that it drew her to him with an unnatural attractiveness. That made her hate him even more.

As Citegrene leaped through the snow drifts, the winds picked up to immense gales, whistling past the she-wolf's ears. She folded them back and tried to stay close to the snowy ground, but the chill still pierced her coat. Hunger gnawed at her stomach. She ignored it in pursuit of the valley's shelter. Slowly, the drifts became deeper and deeper, so when she finally crossed the final ten feet to the opening between mountains, the snow was up to her shoulders.

Citegrene let loose a growl of irritation when she sprang from the last of the deep drifts and into shallower banks, shaking excess globules of snow from her pelt. "Finally." Apparently, the Balkar had already been here to dig out the path, but their scent faded into nothingness as she sniffed around. Odd. She ventured farther into the valley.

The stone walls were tall and steep-sided, throwing the entire valley into a perpetual twilight. As Citegrene stalked through the bare trees, snow randomly cascaded down from boughs, occasionally slamming onto her pelt. She grumbled incoherently and kept walking. After a while, the woods began to thin, and the faint scent of lupine drifted through the air. Citegrene sniffed, growled to herself, then suddenly dashed forward.

She was exhausted, but it mattered naught. The trees zipped past in a blur, lashing out at Citegrene's face with their stinging branches. Each strike made pain streak into her skull, but her eyes squinted in determination.

"What the – You there! Halt!"

Citegrene streaked right past the male, her fur brushing against his as collision warnings went off in her brain. When another stepped forward to block her path, she slammed her feet into the snow, white flurries flying in all directions.

"It's _her_!" Hushed whispers erupted all around as Citegrene spun in a circle, snarling at each face. Their very sight made her sick. They knew nothing of the cruel world, with their smug faces and sleek pelts. How _dare_ they hinder her journey even a mere second. How _dare_ they! Her eyes locked onto the tan wolf first, and a sudden sense of _déjà vu_ overwhelmed her.

"You . . . come here." His ears folded to his head as he slunk forward, head low in submission. She could smell the fear emanating from him, but none of the other males made any attempt to counteract her command.

"What your name?"

"Keem . . . . . . ma'am . . ." Citegrene stretched to sniff the top of his head as he came within reach, then snorted from the stench that burnt her nostrils. The male withdrew in surprise.

"You have brother?"

Confusion lit his eyes as he raised his head and nodded, his bright eyes looking questioningly at Citegrene. She contemplated what to do next, then gave in as a mean thought formed in her mind.

"Dead. I killed him."

"Wha . . . wha . . . what!?" Keem wailed, his face consumed with horror and shock. His terror-filled amber orbs never left Citegrene's, even when he bumped into a fellow Balkar male in his attempt to get away from Citegrene. A gap was made for the young wolf, who then disappeared behind a mass of furry pelts. His pain-wracked cries pierced the sky.

The she-wolf felt amused by Keem's reaction, and the corners of her mouth twitched in a smile. Even more interesting was how the other Balkar males stared at her blankly. It was obvious they were hiding their true emotions, but she wondered why.

One dusty brown male started forward, his expression unreadable. He walked with a tense gait, that of one bearing the heavy burden of leadership.

"Now you want me as leader? Am I _worthy_ to be First Wolf?" Citegrene spat onto the ground. Her dirty fur bristled in all directions as the brown male neared. Her anger

He halted naught three tails lengths from Citegrene, and gingerly sat on his haunches, as if he were years older than his youthful age. It was obvious that he had been carrying the heavy burden of leadership for a while.

His breath came out in a sigh as he looked towards the wind, then slowly closed his eyes. The breeze ruffled through his fur, the guard hairs gently swaying to and fro. He sighed once more before growling, "You are our only hope. The Balkar . . . won't take anyone else as First Wolf. We've been waiting for you for a long time."

"Everyone always waiting . . . Why want _me_!?"

_Citegrene . . . think about what you are doing. Accept the offer._

"Because you are the only one who can save us."

Citegrene's anger level was rising. "From who!? Rekoj? If he here, find someone else to save you!"

_Citegrene . . ._

"No . . . there are things far more dangerous than Rekoj. Compared to them, Rekoj is just another thug with aimless intentions."

"Than _who_!?"

The Dragga turned away, pain carved into his features.

Citegrene snarled viciously. "If won't tell, than I won't come . . ."

_Citegrene! Think about what you are throwing away!_

_Oh, shut up! You aren't the one making this decision!_

"Please . . . you'll find out soon enough, with the way the world is now."

_Citegrene! Obey me. _The voice in her head was deeper now. A lot deeper. It held an ancient power long hidden from Citegrene's knowledge. She mentally drew back in fear.

The brown male could see the terror and indecision in her eyes, and silently waited for her to answer. Citegrene stalled, but fear of another encounter with the bass voice scared her into saying one simple word.

"Fine."

The Balkar howled in delight, an uproarious sound that echoed across the valley. All except Keem and the brown male; one still cowered with horror and the other stood up, a cool collective air about him.

"Come . . . let's go." The dusty brown male led the Balkar and Citegrene down a worn trail hidden between tree trunks. O'er hill and snow-covered heather they traveled, a steady effortless trot that made the miles melt away. Conversation was sparse, but an air of excitement permeated everything. Some even whittled its way into Citegrene's soul as she pointedly tried to forget the resonating whispers of the voice's last utterance. It had been said with such _power_ . . .

Freezing rain began to softly pour from the bleak clouds above. Wherever it touched Citegrene's pelt, it stuck to the tips of her hairs and froze. The shards that managed to hit her bare skin melted, then turned to ice once more as they dripped off of her fur. Citegrene tried to stifle her shivers as she trotted alongside the other wolves, who showed no signs of the cold despite their thin pelts.

The air in the valley was unnaturally still. Citegrene could barely smell the wolf scents around her, despite her close proximity to the eight males. She watched as their breath huffed out in clouds that hung motionless the air, frozen as if time itself had stopped. It was warmer here, in this valley, protected by the mighty mountains on either side, but Citegrene still felt a chill wriggle down her spine. There was always something there, in the back of her mind, watching over everything she did, seeing everything she saw, hearing everything she heard, listening to her every thoughts with an unreadable emotion. The creature in her mind couldn't possibly be Rekoj . . . could it?

Citegrene growled to herself, then glared at the brown wolf as he glanced at her questioningly. He was young . . . too young to have to endure the hardships of leading a pack on his own. She was sure of it, now. He must have been leading the Balkar ever since Rekoj left. That traitorous mutt. Her lip curled in a snarl, and she pushed harder through the trees, surpassing her escorts until she was directly behind the brown wolf.

Citegrene and company broke through the last of the trees. She was forced to stop lest she bash her muzzle on the brown wolf's flank as he padded quickly to a halt. Her temper flared, but for once she refused to be succumbed by it. Now was not the time to let anger overshadow her decisions.

The brown wolf had stopped right before a small ledge. Its stone form jutted out into the cloudy sky, piercing the gray with a rusty red. Citegrene stepped onto the precipice, feeling the icy rain fall from the clouds land on her fur, feeling the smooth rock beneath her paws.

The valley below curved down through a mountain pass, almost as if it were a river carving through the ancient stone. A massive forest of bare-limbed trees dominated the valley that spread out below her. Small and glinting silver, a winding stream was visible through the branches. Suddenly, Citegrene felt someone beside her, and turned to see the brown wolf. He raised his head and cried to the cloudy sky, frost billowing from his muzzle.

"Balkar; heed my call. The First Wolf has arrived! Come, young and old, and welcome your new leader! Welcome your savior, the Gold-Pelted One!"

Whispers erupted from the forest. Citegrene craned her neck over the ledge to stare at the trees a hundred feet below her, cast in the shadow of the clouds. Black shapes were visible in the darkness, weaving through the trunks towards the clearing beneath Citegrene's ledge. Some wolves emerged quickly from the forest to sit in the open; others stayed back in the trees, their eyes flashing warily.

_What is going on here . . ._ Citegrene thought to herself, her eyes widening in surprise as she saw a gray pup totter into the open, only to be grabbed by his mother and set by a stump. There were Drappas and pups here . . . but the Balkar didn't allow females or young in their ranks. Citegrene earnestly watched the wolves continuously file from the forest, until there were well over 200 wolves gazing up at her from below.

"I can tell that you are surprised, but, please, don't turn the others away. This is the only place they have left. Please . . . this is their sanctuary."

Citegrene gazed into the faces of each wolf. The fervent hope in their eyes made her stomach knot painfully. They _trusted_ her . . . On her way traveling to this rocky outpost, she had been entertaining numerous evil intentions to put the Balkar in their place. After all, they had willingly served Rekoj and had done _nothing_ about it. But . . . there were _pups_ here. She felt a horrible guilt in her chest for being given the opportunity to control the lives of these Varg . . . They shouldn't have offered it in the first place! Of course any Varg would be corrupt if they played god with the lives of over 200 wolves!

The one that had been reprimanded by its mother hid behind the protective barrier of her legs. Its tail was visible as it wagged happily, and it peeked up at Citegrene with wide, blue eyes full of curiosity and innocence. Something awoke in the golden wolf . . . a feeling that burnt like fire and made her yearn for how things could have been if she hadn't been thrust into this life-consuming journey for Paradise. What a waste it had been! Oh, she yearned to have a family of her own . . . An image of frolicking pups filled her mind's eye. They tumbled over one another in a perpetual wrestling game. A small golden one, the spitting image of Citegrene, tugged on her brother's ear playfully. Their tails wagged excitedly, then they turned in unison to smile up at a faceless male wolf that stood watch over them.

Slowly, colored poured into his limbs, filling them with an olive-brown tone. The face began to paint itself with a chalky white; the eyes were circled with black; and the ever-scarred muzzle glowed red.

Rekoj grinned, his eyes boring into Citegrene's with a silent laugh.

Citegrene snapped out of her daydream, feeling her heart thump erratically against her chest. No, NO! She must never have children . . . Rekoj would never stop hunting them . . . or her.

"Citegrene . . ." the brown wolf whispered into her ear. She startled, then stared fearfully at the throng below. "They are all gathered here to see you. Say _something_!"

Suddenly, everything was thrust into an ocean of blue. Shafts of effervescent moonlight pierced the snow covered ground, reflecting in brilliant shades of whitish cerulean. The gathered wolves were cast into molds of pale azure, their eyes glinting from the moon's glow. The pup hiding behind his mother's leg took a step into the light, gazing around at the snow in delighted wonder.

Citegrene gazed up into the bluish light of the full moon. It was so large tonight. Her blue orbs reflected its white surface, and she felt a great strength course through her. Her limbs filled with power, and she sensed the consciousness in the back of her mind stir. The excitement must have woken it, or else it had been watching all along. But it didn't matter. Citegrene fell into the current of instinct as she reared her head back and howled in unison with the voice that now roared in her mind.

"I . . . am . . . _god._"


End file.
